Rahul Gandhi is expected today to speak on behalf of his party in the Lok Sabha. (File Photo)
Highlights
- Rahul Gandhi likely to speak in Lok Sabha about inflation, dal prices
- Seen with eyes closed in parliament last week
- In Gujarat, hugged a woman who, it emerges, has criminal record
After being seen with his eyes closed during a rigorous debate in parliament and then being photographed hugging a woman embroiled in several criminal cases in Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi is expected today to speak on behalf of his party in the Lok Sabha about the steep increase in prices, especially that of pulses or dal.
Mr Gandhi, 46, is not known for best practices in parliament. He intervenes rarely in debates (though he has improved upon his skimpy record for addressing the Lok Sabha). Last year, he flew abroad on a mystery sabbatical and missed a crucial session which the Congress used to attack the government over a policy to acquire land from farmers for industry, an issue so politically loaded that the scheme was shelved. In 2014 and then again last week, he was filmed in what seemed to be a nap (on both occasions, his party has suggested that it was a case of eyes wide shut and that he was listening intently to the debate).
Pulses are a top component of India's spiraling inflation. Prices of lentils have risen by nearly 20 per cent every month for the last year, according to some reports. The government has raised imports and placed buffer stock on the market to help consumers. But the main problem is that India produces a miniscule amount of pulses compared to most other countries
Despite a succession of electoral setbacks in states like Kerala and Assam, the Congress has been clamouring for Mr Gandhi to take over the party from his mother, Sonia, who has been its president since 1998 Mr Gandhi's elevation is not up for debate - the party, famous for its unabashed allegiance to its First Family, has repeatedly said it is upto him to decide when to avail of it.
Recently, Mr Gandhi has exhibited punchier riposte than he was known for, encouraging his party to claim that he is a more confident and intuitive politician than before. He coined the term "suit-boot government", referencing a heavily-monogrammed suit that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in famously wore for a meeting with President Obama for alleged complicity in crony capitalism.
Playing on the heavily-monogrammed suit that Prime Minister Narendra Modi infamously wore for a meeting with President Obama, Mr Gandhi coined the term "suit-boot government" to accuse the ruling BJP of favouring the interests of rich industrialists over the country's poor. In March, he mocked a scheme to encourage tax defaulters to disclose hidden wealth as "Fair and Lovely", alleging that like the skin-lightening cream, the policy made undeliverable promises to turn black money into white.