Rahul Gandhi has of late stopped putting up a show of being genuinely concerned about India and its people. In fact, the son of Rajiv Gandhi has made it a life-mission of sorts to single-handedly discredit the Indian National Congress before the people of India, as if the Grand Old Party wasn’t already reeling under a severe crisis. At a time when the Modi government is cementing its position against the fake hue and cry and doomsday predictions surrounding the three revolutionary farm laws, the Congress leader has flown off to Milan, Italy on a “short, personal trip”.
It now appears that Rahul Gandhi is really dedicated to ensuring the ruin of his ancestors’ party. The short and sweet trip of Rahul Gandhi to Milan comes in the backdrop of Congress pondering upon the dates of the next election within the party to elect a new chief, relieving Sonia Gandhi from her interim post. Further, chatter also suggests that the UPA might see a major rejig, with Sharad Pawar being declared its chairperson, replacing current UPA chair Sonia Gandhi. For Rahul Gandhi to be out of India at such a time sends all the wrong signals.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has left for abroad for a short personal visit and will be away for a few days: Party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 27, 2020
But then, when have we ever known Rahul Gandhi to send the right feelers? The man is a dedicated fan of Bangkok and flies there for indulging in ‘meditation’, even as the Congress reels under a multiplicity of crises back home. The man’s latest Bangkok rendezvous came in October 2019, in the wake of the party being split into two camps – Sonia Gandhi’s supporters and Rahul Gandhi’s supporters ahead of the Maharashtra and Haryana state Assembly polls.
Now, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself taking the opposition parties to cleaners, of which the Congress is a wholehearted part, Rahul Gandhi deemed it fit to fly to Milan to save himself the embarrassment of getting exposed before the entire nation yet again.
As a matter of fact, for all the outrage within the Congress party regarding the three farm laws passed by the parliament in September, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had both decided to give a miss to the Monsoon session which was held by the government after a long gap, owing to the Covid outbreak in the country.
Discontent, meanwhile, continues to run high in Congress-ruled states of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, with serving Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel fearing a leadership rejig, which will result in them being made senior AICC functionaries in Delhi, while the baton of Chief Ministership is passed on to Sachin Pilot and Singh Deo respectively. At such a time, for Rahul Gandhi to be flying out of the country has acted as a catalyst to the brewing discontent. Already, the Congress has lost stalwarts like Ahmed Patel and Motilal Vohra recently, who was the party’s crises extinguishers.
Rahul Gandhi’s absence at such a crucial time will project him as only a coward, and nothing more. A political leader who runs from a crisis is not taken seriously by his or her own party workers, leave alone the people of the country.
