On February 2 (Wednesday), Rahul Gandhi rose on the floor of the Lok Sabha. Rahul Gandhi roared. He was unforgiving, relentless and decisive. He had a clarity of thought, which he seamlessly brought to words. He went on for a good forty minutes. Rahul Gandhi was speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President of India’s address to both houses of Parliament at the outset of the budget session this year. The Congress scion was unsparing. He inspired everyone. He once again convinced the nation as a whole that there is no bigger clown than him.
Rahul Gandhi made a decisive fool of himself. The man should now quit politics. He is embarrassing beyond redemption. The show which the Congress dynast put up on the floor of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday is the most glaring example of why the man is simply unfit for politics. He does not have it in him to be taken seriously by anybody.
Rahul Gandhi’s Long Rant against the Modi Government is Self-Destructive
You see, Rahul Gandhi decided that he must preach the Modi government and BJP. So, he, in an unusually loud tone, said, “There are two competing visions of India…If you read the Constitution, you will find that India is described as a Union of States. India is not described as a nation; it is described as a Union of States.”
The Gandhi dynast, who has an unparalleled ability to lose elections, added, “You think that you can suppress the (states’) languages, cultures, histories. You have no idea of history, no idea of what you are dealing with.”
The joke wrote itself when Rahul Gandhi made a profound observation, and said, “There are two visions: one is a Union of States, of languages, of cultures, a bouquet of beautiful flowers that can challenge any power in the world… There is another vision: a centralising vision, the vision of a king, the idea of a king which the Congress removed in 1947… The idea of a king has come back, that there is a king, a shehenshah, a ruler of rulers, a master of masters.”
That’s right. The symbol of nepotism and dynastic politics, and the son of a family that has ruled over India in an authoritarian manner for nearly 60 years, is today telling the democratically-elected Modi government on how its style of functioning is unhealthy for Indian democracy, federalism and of course, the “Idea of India”.
The grandson of Indira Gandhi is telling Narendra Modi that he is destroying democratic institutions. The judiciary, election commission and every other institution – which Rahul Gandhi thinks were free and independent before 2014 – are today functioning as proxy-BJP organisations. That’s what the Congress leader wants you to believe. He has no idea of history and his own family’s tainted legacy.
India is a Nation
India, according to Rahul Gandhi, is not a nation. It is merely a ‘Union of States’ – coexisting for comfort. Each state has fundamentally differing cultures, languages and traditions – that is what Rahul believes. Rahul Gandhi is right; India is a Union of states, but he is wrong when he says India is not a nation.
Article 1(1) of the Constitution of India says “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” Bharat has always been a nation. It has been one civilisation, and that makes India a nation.
Congress’ Shameful Legacy
We all know that Indira Gandhi’s rather lengthy rule ruined India in a variety of ways. However, a lasting legacy of the Indira regime is the imposition of Emergency from 1975 to 1977. The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be cancelled and civil liberties to be suspended.
For much of the Emergency, most of Indira Gandhi’s political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored. Several other human rights violations were reported from the time, including a mass forced sterilization campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi.
Interestingly, when reminded of the Emergency during his rant of how India is a ‘Union of States’, Rahul Gandhi said “Mai uspe bhi bolta hu. Mai darta nahi hu uspe bolne se (I speak on that too. I am not scared of talking about the Emergency)”. But then, he said nothing about the Emergency. No condemnation. No sorry. No regret. Nothing at all.
Read more: Rahul Gandhi is the modern Indira Gandhi as far as the dictatorship is concerned
Rahul Gandhi also proclaimed that the Modi government had no clue on how to deal with China, and with the consolidated China-Pakistan threat. China, Rahul claimed, had a “clear vision”. This, despite national security, is at its strongest in India today, and China acting like a headless chicken which has been challenged by India for the first time in over 75 years.
India’s fierce pushback against China at Doklam, Galwan and other places has no parallel in recent times. Under Congress rule though, India was humiliated by China in the 1962 war and lost 45,000 square kilometres of territory in Aksai Chin.
Congress ignored and systemically alienated India’s Northeast, gave rise to militancy in Punjab and failed to curb terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Today, Rahul Gandhi – a symbol of Congress’ Gandhi dynasty somehow has the gall to stand up and attack the Modi government on issues which his party has spectacularly failed at, if not caused in the first place.
It is for these reasons that Rahul Gandhi must quit politics. Whenever he speaks, he brings shame to the Congress and the Gandhi family. It is not without merit that he is often referred to as the BJP’s ‘star campaigner’.