Rahul more talented than Rajiv, says Khushwant Singh

So, what makes Rahul Gandhi 'different' from his father and former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi? While many feel that the two Gandhis have a host of similarities, there are others who believe that Rahul's political style is one that hasn't been witnessed by the Indian political scene before.

Maverick writer Khushwant Singh compares the father and son in his latest book, Absolute Khushwant: The Low Down on Life, Death and Most Things in-between. Here's a look at the two Gandhis through the eyes of the maverick writer.

Khushwant Singh considers Rahul to be more talented than his father Late Rajiv Gandhi, who he said was "not really a leader" but "a boy scout" with some "good ideas but none of them extraordinary".

Recalling his brother Sanjay as the more dynamic one, Singh said, "Rajiv was just a boy scout." The writer says Rahul is becoming a mature leader and may assume the charge of Prime Minister, if Congress wins 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The grand old man of letters lauds efforts of Rahul for "taking on" Mayawati and Shiv Sena on their own turf and highlighting 'shameful' realities of the country by staying with ''lower castes and sharing their food".

"He has taken on Mayawati in her own territory. It is a brave thing to do. He himself seems to have no caste or class prejudice. What he has been doing in Amethi, staying with the lower castes and sharing their food-I don't think that you can criticize him for that”.

But when it comes to Rajiv Gandhi, Khushwant Singh says he was "bullied into a position he wasn't equipped to handle".

Singh praised Rahul for "the manner he took on the Shiv Sena in Bombay (February 2010).

"He lambasted them for attacking non-Maharashtrians and said publicly that Bombay was for all Indians. Then he went to the lion's den and dared them to do their worst. He walked around the streets, travelled by local train.

Rajiv, the writer says, was "pleasant enough, and had some good ideas, but none of them extraordinary."

The author says Rajiv "bungled in Sri Lanka; he even fired a minister in a public conference! His role in Shah Bano case and in Babri Masjid incident cannot be denied. Both were big blunders that were irreversible and did long term damage."

In this picture, Rajiv Gandhi ducks a rifle butt attack by a Sri Lankan naval rating in Colombo on 30 July 1987 after he had signed a controversial peace pact with the Colombo government.

Singh also criticises him for making the statement "When a big tree falls, the earth is bound to shake..." during anti-Sikh riots in Delhi triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984.

On Rajiv, the writer said, "He wasn't really a leader. And I don't think he was cut-out for politics. He followed in his mother's footsteps and made many of same mistakes. Even the positive things he did, like telecom and computers-the plans had started in Indira Gandhi's time".

Rahul, says the writer, has a vision. "I'm impressed with him, impressed with the way in which he's conducting himself. He has the right attitude. Even if much of what he does only amounts to gestures, the thinking behind them is right," wrote 95-year-old Singh.

Singh criticised Rajiv for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying "He could easily have stopped the massacres. All he had to do was to go out and say, 'This must stop' and call in the army. But he didn't, he almost justified the carnage with that remark. I cannot imagine his grandfather (Nehru) allowing such a thing to continue."

On the left is a placard used during a silent march assigning the blame for the 1984 Sikh massacre to then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his political party in October 2000.

The writer known for his column With Malice towards one and all says Rahul is becoming a mature leader. He remembers advising the young Congress leader to "resist flatterers and to hold back from accepting any portfolio" during a meeting when Rahul came to meet him at his home. "We didn't talk about his grandmother or his Great grandfather," said Khushwant.