by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
By: Abdul hafiz lakhani
Congress general secretary in-charge of Gujarat, Ashok Gehlot, tells his party will defeat the BJP in the state and Rahul Gandhi may become Congress president before the year ends. excerpts from the interview:
Q. Rahul Gandhi’s Navsarjan Yatra has created quite a buzz in Gujarat and elsewhere. Has it managed to rejuvenate the Congress workers?
Party workers are fully energized, active and motivated. Rahul’s visit has recharged them. Their response in meetings and rallies reflects their enthusiasm.
Q . What does this hype translate into on the ground?
Gujarat elections will be the turning point for the country. The people are living in fear; they feel the BJP and (PM Narendra) Modi have ditched them with false promises. Farmers are dying, young people are jobless, SCs and STs see no future, small businessmen and traders are hit by GST. Everybody is disillusioned with the government. The Gujarat polls will be a setback for Modi, and that would be in the national interest. Gujarat’s voters will usher in the change the country needs.
Q. The Congress, once the ruling party in the state, has been out of power for several years. Is there any real chance of staging a comeback?
We are confident of winning. The mood is in our favour and the voters have made up their mind. The BJP will surely be defeated. Speak to anyone in the streets and you will find they are fed up with the BJP.
Q.The Congress vote-share in the state has been hovering around 40 per cent, but it has failed to increase its seats in the assembly. Why?
The difference in vote-shares of the Congress and the BJP is only around 7-8 per cent and we lost many seats by less than 10,000 votes. It’s a small margin. (As CM) Modi was more into marketing than governance. He and his party created illusions and that has discredited them now in the public mind. They will get exposed this time. Besides, they have polarised society between Hindu and Muslim, and created an anti-Congress atmosphere by projecting it as a party that favours Muslims. On the contrary, ours is a party that believes in inclusiveness and taking everyone along. This time, we are not giving them any chance to polarise the voters. Moreover, (BJP chief) Amit Shah always used to talk about three issues—Narmada dam, OBCs and Garib Kalyan (welfare of the poor). They have totally failed on all three counts, hence the BJP doesn’t raise those issues anymore.
Q. What has changed for things to be working well with Rahul Gandhi this time? Is it the slowdown in the economy, the fear of job losses and the disappointment with the Modi government?
Rahul is totally dedicated to the country. When he was once asked about his religion, he said the tricolour is his religion. He is always thinking about what is good for the country and the party, but the BJP tried to tarnish his image using social media to influence the voter’s mind. The BJP, however, stands exposed now.
Q. Could this be described as the 2011 moment for Modi and the BJP—the year when the public mood started to turn away from Manmohan Singh and the Congress, sparking off the decline?
Yes, absolutely.
Q. Will he take over as Congress president when the AICC session is held in November-December?
Yes, I think so.
Q. Modi is a brilliant communicator, while Rahul’s weakness has been his inability to connect with the masses. How will he overcome this?
I have been seeing this since Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s time that Indians have robust common sense; they understand what the leader is trying to communicate. Therefore, just oratory does not help. Truthfulness always wins. The BJP managed to win the 2014 general elections by influencing the minds of the people, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
Q. Do you see Rahul as the PM of this country in 2019?
If Rahul Gandhi wished, he could have become PM during UPA II. But he didn’t. What’s clear is that the Modi sarkar will be out and the Congress will return to power. It is for Rahul to decide who will become the prime minister.
(Mr. Abdul hafiz lakhani is a senior journalist based at AHMEDABAD.)
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, News, Politics
New Delhi : Calling the Goods and Services Tax a “tsunami of tax terrorism”, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday compared demonetisation and GST with a double tap bullet fired at the economy to ensure it was dead.
In a hard-hitting attack, Gandhi also called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a person with a small heart” and said the economy was staring at disaster, a “Modi-made disaster”.
“GST, as this government has formulated it, has already unleashed a tsunami of tax terrorism and it is only going to get worse.
“Modiji and his government have fired a double tap at the heart of the economy. First notebandi… bang…, and then GST…, bang… have crippled our economy. The situation of joblessness in the country is extremely worrying. The government is creating a massive army of unemployed, which is toxic and dangerous,” Gandhi said in his speech at the 112th annual session of the PHD Chamber of Commerce followed by a question-answer session.
The Congress leader said instead of admitting they are not able to provide jobs and are pitting communities against each other in a bloody rage.
“The way the regime is working, or not working, has led to a double tap killing of the Indian economy. Commandos, in hostage situation, fire what is called a double tap. Two quick closely-placed shots are fired at the chest to ensure that their terrorist target is down,” he added.
“In a couple of weeks, we will observe the ‘death’ anniversary of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. November 8 is the ‘barsi’ (death anniversary) of ‘notebandi’ — the day Modi personally wiped out overnight 86 per cent of the currency in circulation,” Gandhi said.
“It was a move taken without thought, without consultation, or concern, for its conseqences. The Prime Minister failed to grasp the basic concept of the Indian economy,” he said.
“All cash is not black, and all black is not cash. Without understanding this basic concept, the Prime Minister used his vast powers to unleash terror on the citizens of India, to make them stand in queues for two months. Many died in the process, millions lost jobs, and their livelihood,” the Congress leader added.
“To do all this, you surely need someone with a very big chest, but a very small heart. Demonetisation crippled micro, small and medium enterprises, and destroyed the unorganised sector, forcing workers to leave urban employment and go back to their villages in search of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) work,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader claimed investments in India were at a 15-year low.
“The growth, which was 6.6 per cent in 2014, is today 4.2 per cent by the yardstick the government is using today. Bank lending is at its lowest in 60 years. Unemployment is skyrocketing.
“Recent research showed that inequality in India is now the highest in 100 years. We are staring at a disaster. This is a man-made disaster — or in Modiji’s terminology, an MMD or Modi-Made Disaster.”
Gandhi said public trust in the government was dead.
“For some reason, the Prime Minister and the government are absolutely convinced that every single person is a thief. The government does not believe its own people,” he said.
The Congress leader said one develops trust by listening and the government does not listen. “Business thrives on trust as it creates a reliable environment,” he said.
Recalling Modi’s first speech in Parliament, Gandhi said it was marked by a lot of taglines and did not have a concrete way forward.
“What disturbed me was the condescending tone that ran through his entire speech and that tone has embedded itself in his government’s psyche and has become the bedrock of its immense arrogance,” he said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Vadodara : Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday stepped up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of remaining silent on the controversy surrounding the tremendous increase in the turnover of a company owned by BJP chief Amit Shah’s son.
There has been an amazing transition from ‘beti bachao, beti padhao’ to ‘beta bachao’, he jibed at the government over its slogan of saving and educating the girl child.
The Congress leader referred to a news portal report on the 16,000-fold increase in the turnover of the company owned by Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah before the firm was shut ahead of the November 8 demonetisation last year.
Gandhi also sought to link the issue with the Modi government’s initiatives.
“Modi ji announced ‘Make in India’ and ‘Startup India’ in 2014. I do not know what came in the mind of Shah ji and how it came. It was a big innovative idea and he did his work. In three-four months, the (turnover of) Rs 50,000 became Rs 80 crore. He got unsecured loan. And a very interesting thing happened. This highly successful company was closed by (Jay) Shah ji in 2016. How the chowkidar (gatekeeper) of India is quiet. He is not speaking a word,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Gandhi, who interacted with the youth here, addressed a series of meetings as part of his campaign for the coming Gujarat assembly polls, and said the central problem of the country was unemployment.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi came up with a slogan of “Beti bachao, beti padhao (save girl child, educate her). But here, what is happening is save the son of Amit Shah,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi also took potshots at Modi in a tweet. “Amazing transition from Beti bachao to beta bachao,” he said.
The Congress leader continued in the same vein in many of his speeches during the day and raked up the issue of Jay Shah’s business.
“There was talk of ‘Make in India’ and startups. Startup is not visible but there is an icon of all startups. It was about an eight-year-old small company with Rs 50,000 turnover. But after (BJP) coming to power in 2014, it became Rs 80 crore company. What happened that a profitable company was closed? The chowkidar should reply.”
“Is he (Modi) a ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) or ‘bhagidar’ (participant)?” Rahul Gandhi said at a meeting in the home state of both Modi and Amit Shah.
The Congress Vice President slammed the Modi government over demonetisation and the manner in which the Goods and Services Tax was rolled out on July 1.
“You hit the farmers of Gujarat, you hit small traders, medium businessmen, and from this fire one company rises and that company is of Amit Shah’s son. This is a sign of Modiji’s Startup India,” Gandhi said amid applause from the audience.
“What a Startup it is. They put Rs 50,000 and Rs 80 crore were made (turnover) in months. What a Startup India, Make in India it is. Now, only one task is left — the Startup India, Make in India has happened in one company and now they should distribute it to others. This is the thinking of the BJP, Narendra Modi,” he said.
Gandhi said that the earlier Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government’s record in generating employment was far better than that of the Modi government.
The Congress leader said there should be single-minded focus on job creation. “If our government comes to power, we will do this,” he said.
“We will bring policies after understanding your needs. We will listen to you and not impose our ‘mann ki baat’,” Rahul Gandhi said. ‘Mann ki Baat’ is Modi’s monthly address to the people through All India Radio.
Rahul Gandhi also said that people should be allowed to express themselves and even unpleasant criticism should be tolerated. “I do not believe in suppressing anyone,” he said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Mayank Chhaya,
Two weeks of a well-orchestrated tour of the US may not be enough to determine whether Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is a reflective and seriously analytical politician, as his supporters insist, or a privileged nincompoop, as social media so churlishly characterises him.
However, what it appears to have done somewhat successfully is lend him some sheen for the urban constituencies that have been missing in his public engagements in India. At the very least, the tour helped him reboot — even though it remains to be seen if all apps fire up subsequently.
His visits to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Princeton and New York exposed him to a diversity of opinion makers but, put together, the audiences were no more than 5,000 people. While the numbers do not necessarily tell the whole story, what they do say was that the attendees were mainly props to transmit a more credible message back home, where his voice is either instantly derided by a frenzied social media trolling culture, or ignored altogether.
Unfortunately for Gandhi, the people with whom he interacted with sobriety and substance — to the pleasant surprise of many of them — are of no consequence to him in his larger political strategy back in India. Even his much-emphasised message to the 21st century non-resident Indians (NRIs) of India’s independence movement being propelled by the early 20th century NRIs such as Mohandas Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel, had only limited resonance.
His first public speech, at the University of California-Berkeley, the famed home of unfettered US liberalism, did make some news in India because of Gandhi’s clarity of purpose on subjects such as the rate of growth versus very low job creation, and the country’s syncretic culture coming under a serious strain by divisive political forces. Ironically, what made most news was his rather glib dismissal of dynastic politics, saying that had become the way things are done in India even in professions beyond politics.
From all available accounts, his interactions with the mainstream political and policy communities in Washington left most of them rather impressed by his understated but substantive style. The image of Gandhi within these fraternities has been one of an absentee politician riding his family name. However, the Washington meetings seemed to have changed that uncharitable point of view.
Perhaps the most extensive policy-focused engagement that he had was in front of some 200 students at Princeton University where he displayed a grasp of broader economic, political, cultural and social trends. His central point was about the need to create large-scale jobs as a vehicle to impart a broader vision to India’s increasingly frustrated population. He kept citing the number of 30,000 Indians entering the job market every 24 hours and barely 450 of them managing to find employment.
The thrust of his argument was that unless this dire statistic was urgently addressed it would be impossible to think in terms of a vision for a great future. To his credit, he acknowledged his own party’s failure to meet that number even while saying that the current government too had failed. He did speak in terms of working unitedly to address the central question of jobs.
One recurring feature of his interactions was India’s reputation as a tolerant and harmonious culture having suffered a major setback in recent months. He said he was asked throughout his tour what had gone wrong with the country — and his response was to speak of “a divisive politics”.
The showcasing of the 47-year-old’s serious side outside the relentless ridicule he faces in India may help him personally in attending to the Congress Party’s decline with renewed vigour. However, the scale of the party’s disaffection is so great that its rejuvenation is unlikely to come via Berkeley or Princeton, but through his unfailing engagement across the length and breadth of India.
The role that the NRIs could play in boosting Gandhi’s prospects as a credible rival to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rather limited, but to the extent their positive attention can lift his personal spirits in a way he can achieve that goal, the tour could be particularly useful.
(Mayank Chhaya is a Chicago-based senior journalist. He can be contacted at mcsix@outlook.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Amulya Ganguli,
One of the main takeaways from Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with the students and the media in the US is the indication that he has given about being the Congress’ Prime Ministerial candidate in 2019 — if his party approves.
It is possible that the charge against him of being a “reluctant” politician and even “stupid”, which he admitted, made him say that he is willing to play a more proactive role and be his party’s “face” in the next general elections.
If anything, the declaration of intent means that it will not be long before he becomes the Congress president. There is also the implication that he will be increasingly seen on public platforms which was earlier promised by some of his party members, especially at the time of his unprepossessing television interview in 2014, but never implemented.
For Rahul Gandhi’s supporters, it was probably just as well that he agreed to go to the US shortly after visiting Norway. The reason is that contrary to the feeling that the Congress Vice President was more interested in travelling abroad than in politics at home, his exchanges at the University of California in Berkeley showed that he is maturing as a politician — even if slowly.
Two confessions underline this point. One is on the profusion of dynastic politics in India even if he has been criticised for being out of touch with aspirational India. The other is the admission that the Congress’s “arrogance” made it lose contact with the people a decade after coming to power in 2004.
As for the children of politicians following in the footsteps of their fathers, he said that there are any number of such instances in India.
It isn’t only the Nehru-Gandhis who are guilty of this practice but also the Abdullahs in Kashmir, the Badals in Punjab, the Karunanidhis in Tamil Nadu and the Mulayam Singh Yadavs and Lalu Prasads in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Then, there is Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is the son of a former Chief Minister, Biju Patnaik; Union minister Jayant Sinha, who is the son of a former Union minister, Yashwant Sinha; BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who is the son of a former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal; Uttar Pradeh legislator Pankaj Singh, who is the son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and so on.
It is now up to Rahul Gandhi to prove or disprove Union Minister Smriti Irani’s quip about being a “failed dynast”, but he is right about dynasticism being a fact of life in India — in politics, in films, in the corporate sector, in the legal profession — even if it is not something to gloat about.
In America, too, there are the Clintons and the George Bushes while earlier there were the Kennedys, and in Pakistan, there are the Bhuttos.
The proof of the pudding lies, of course, in the eating, and in the case of dynasts it is in the winning of elections which matters — something which Smriti Irani, a successful actress and a failed Human Resource Development Minister, is yet to achieve.
For Rahul Gandhi to succeed, he has first to ascertain what went wrong with the Congress in 2014. If it was due to arrogance, as he has said, he has to find out whose haughtiness let the party down.
Since Manmohan Singh is generally not associated with hauteur, was it the attitude of Sonia Gandhi, who has been called — perhaps unfairly — the power behind the throne?
In any event, it is difficult to believe in the Congress being conceited at a time when it was immersed in a plethora of scams which brought about its downfall. So there must be some other explanation for its decline and fall.
It would have been understandable if the arrogance perceived by Rahul Gandhi had stemmed from what Arvind Subramanian, the Modi government’s Chief Economic Adviser, said about the fastest ever reduction of poverty under the Congress-led government between 2005-06 and 2011-12.
But although the Congress Vice President did talk about his party’s achievement in lifting millions out of poverty, he only spoke in general terms about how a growth rate of eight per cent over the next 10-15 years could lift 130 million out of poverty by 2030.
In this context, it was possible to get some idea about his hitherto hazy economic ideas, for he said that the high growth rate should be propelled by small and medium businesses, which, according to him, constitute the “bedrock” of the Indian economy, and not by “massive factories” as in China.
Evidently, his dislike of the corporate czars, which he expressed by his jibe about the present government being “suit-boot ki sarkar”, remains unchanged.
But what the primacy of the small and medium industries will mean is that India will have to continue to import planes, ships, submarines, howitzers and the like since these can be built only in “massive factories”.
His thumbs up to Modi’s Make-in-India initiative is welcome in this context, but the investors may not be interested only in small and medium enterprises. Rahul Gandhi’s economic outlook evidently needs to be brushed up.
(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)
—IANS
