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Nalin S Kohli is spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Director of the party's Public Policy Research Centre. He is also a lawyer and has extensive experience in media and education.)
The young leader of the Congress Party is once again at it. His outbursts, like numerous occasions in the past, raise more questions on the commentator himself rather than on the target of his political ire!
While addressing party workers at a function on the eve of Jawaharlal Nehru's 125th birth anniversary, Mr. Rahul Gandhi trashed the Prime Minister's Swachh Bharat or Clean India programme as nothing more than a "photo opportunity" of cleaning roads. He then went on to indicate that the motif of the broom is supposedly spreading hatred instead of love.
The obvious question that was left unanswered and debated for several hours thereafter was, why on earth is Mr Rahul Gandhi opposing a non-partisan, participative, national movement that seeks to rid India of litter and improve the cleanliness of the country? Not unexpectedly, countless Congress spokespersons were clueless. In a piquant position, they preferred to lecture the nation on the benefits of secularism and Nehruvian ideology rather than providing a cogent answer that could even remotely answer their leader's irreverent comment.
Mr. Rahul Gandhi's use of the term "photo opportunity" is, in itself, fascinating - ironically coming from one whose entire political existence appears to be a string of carefully planned events crafted as near perfect photo opportunities. Whether it was the travel in local trains of Mumbai, or spending a night at the house of a Dalit family in a village; or angrily tearing an ordinance issued by the UPA government to protect convicted politicians; or the visit to Bhatta Parsaul village riding pillion on a motorcycle; every event achieved nothing beyond a photo session combined with sound-bytes that essentially reminded the nation of Mr. Gandhi's political existence and supposed concerns.
In his outburst, Mr. Gandhi also expected a billion plus people to believe that a country which won its independence on the principle of love and non-violence was today "being ruled by people who are angry" and further in his assessment, "spreading poison". Obviously this profound comment was to be appreciated, perhaps even applauded, by citizens who experienced runaway inflation, corruption and a lack of governance for years under the erstwhile Congress-UPA government.
Mr. Gandhi seems oblivious to the fact, that in a few months of Mr. Modi's government taking charge, over 70 million marginalised, poor citizens have opened bank accounts owing to the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, among several other large initiatives.
It is also amusing to note, that following Prime Minister Modi's announcement, students across schools in India are to observe the entire week cleaning their school and surroundings between the birth anniversaries of Jawaharlal Nehru on the 14thand Indira Gandhi on 19th November, occasions that accord respect to Mr. Rahul Gandhi's maternal great grandfather and grandmother.
Are these not examples of good governance that should be celebrated by every Indian irrespective of political affiliation? How are these, even remotely, examples of spreading poison? Should not a government, young in tenure, be supported for causes that benefit the country and its citizens en masse?
Such concerns, one might suppose, would appeal to those who value and respect work and accomplishment. Beyond the inherited goodwill of Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, what might Mr. Rahul Gandhi lay claim to? Could he showcase efforts he might have made instead of relying on a preferential existence founded on an inherited legacy?
In over a decade as Member of Parliament, Mr. Gandhi's attendance in sessions has been far from exemplary; his participation in debates virtually non-existent. He seems to lack a sustained interest in the responsibility so fondly meted out to him by his constituency and by others who, at some point, regarded him as a possible future leader.
Perhaps that explains the urgency to hold onto a legacy of the past with such desperation. Take the political inheritance away and Mr. Rahul Gandhi would be the dimpled boy of his more politically astute mum. Unfortunately, that's all he has been living by, at least so far.
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