I strongly feel that if Rahul Gandhi had been declared the Prime Ministerial choice of Congress at the right time, Congress would have been in a better shape today.
By Dr. Javed Jamil,
Saturday, 12 April 2014, established Rahul Gandhi as one of the most powerful faces in Indian politics. The day clearly belonged to him. Amethi showered love on him in the day, and in the evening the national viewers had a chance to watch his interview, which would surely make them feel more assured about the new star on the Indian horizon.
Almost the whole day, national TV kept the viewers glued with scenes of jubilation on the streets of Amethi when Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by mother Sonia and sister Priyanka, arrived to file his nomination papers. It was the flood of the people that thronged to have a glimpse of him and a heavy downpour of flower petals that coloured his caravan. It was surely the biggest show of strength till now that made the great Sonia and Modi shows look smaller. When asked about his “personal remark” against Modi, he clarified that he did not believe in personal attacks and referred only to a legal lacuna in the affidavits.
His interview telecast on Aaj Tak and Headlines Today was a pleasant departure from the interview that Times Now did a few months back. Javed Ansari proved to be a much more accomplished interviewer than Arnab Goswami. Goswami seemed to be predetermined to show Gandhi in bad light. He asked questions that had little if anything to do with Gandhi and prevented him from spelling his vision of India. Ansari did just the opposite. He asked tough questions but these were related to Gandhi and not his forefathers. As a perfect interviewer, he allowed the viewers to have a glimpse of the real Rahul: straightforward, full of vision, people loving, sober, yet confident. He succeeded in presenting himself as one who cares for business but not at the cost of the people. I loved his remarks especially because it was very close to my line of thinking on business. The support to business and the support to a few chosen businessmen are two different things. Supporting business means supporting not only the interests of the businessmen but also the interests of the consumers and to ensure that growth does not accentuate economic disparity. He took the fight straight to Modi when he told how land after land was sold to a “particular person” at a throwaway price.
The brightest point in his interview was that he was able to draw a link between communal amity and development. “The country will stop developing”, he argued “if communal harmony is disturbed in the country.” There was a weak point too. I do not agree with his argument about why he was not projected as Prime Ministerial candidate. The MPs that choose Prime Minster do not come from nowhere; they are the ones who are allotted party tickets in return of their commitment to party lines. I strongly feel that if Rahul Gandhi had been declared the Prime Ministerial choice of Congress at the right time, Congress would have been in a better shape today. And I am really sad to say that if UPA fails to come back to the power, it will be not due to the failure on the performance front but due to abysmal failure on the campaign front.
But even if UPA fails to come to power, Rahul Gandhi has already emerged as a serious leader who will sooner or later assume the reins of the country. Saturday will make many feel sorry why Congress failed to project Rahul much earlier than it actually did.
(Dr. Javed Jamil is a thinker and writer with over a dozen books including his latest, “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Road-map”. Other works include “The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism”, “The Essence of the Divine Verses”, “The Killer Sex”, “Islam means Peace” and “Rediscovering the Universe”.)
(He can be contacted at [email protected] or 91-8130340339. https://twitter.com/javedjamil)
