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New Delhi, January 9
The social media is actively debating three takeaways from Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s address to NRIs in Bahrain on Monday night.
The first is his promise of blending the youthful and old energies of his party to give the world a “brave, new, shining” Congress which will deliver a goal of harmonious India as opposed to the BJP’s “politics of anger”.
The second is Gandhi’s teaser on Gujarat to his political rival and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Answering a question about why the Congress could not convert the anger on roads of Gujarat into an electoral victory in Modi’s home state, Gandhi playfully said, “The Congress had been on the ground in Gujarat for a long time. We continue our struggles. Gujarat is the BJP bastion. Wahan BJP bachke nikli hai (has barely managed to scrape through).”
The third major takeaway from Gandhi’s speech to the influential Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin was his mockery of the Indian media which he said didn’t show the reality of the Congress pursuits.
Answering a question on the apparent mismatch between the outreach of the Congress and BJP in Indian elections, Gandhi said there was no dearth of outreach on the level of the Congress. “We are struggling but the media does not show this. They have their reasons,” Gandhi said referring to his party’s long-standing refrain that the Indian TV media was promoting the PM at the cost of the opposition. Congress media head Randeep Surjewala has coined a conspiracy queer word called “Bhakt channels”.
In yet another interesting retort about his own poor social media image, Gandhi said “it’s an assiduously crafted strategy of the BJP which pays to do this”. But truth has a tendency to prevail, he smiled, adding: “Diamond is a diamond.”
Gandhi was answering questions confidently with Sam Pitroda, friend of his father Rajiv Gandhi, playing the moderator.
Pitroda also left an impression when he chided an NRI who urged Gandhi to ensure free transport back home of the bodies of people dying abroad.
“Let’s not ask what we can get from the country. Let’s ask what we can give back to the country. It’s time to give,” Pitroda said, inviting applause.
Earlier, Pitroda shared his conversations with the legendary Dhiru Bhai Ambani mentioning: “I would always tell Dhirubhai that India’s problem is—those who have everything to give want to take and those who want to give have nothing to give.”
The Bahrain visit was Gandhi’s first after he assumed the Congress presidency on December 16, 2017. Next he’ll travel to Canada and Singapore. On the radar are NRI votes.
