In case there are those of you who may not have seen it, I shall begin by describing Rahul Gandhi’s latest video from his yatra. It begins with him saying aggressively that Narendra Modi was not born an OBC (other backward class) and that he is of the ‘teli’ caste, which was included in the OBC list only in the year 2000. He then tells his audience that they have been fooled by ‘their prime minister’ who has told them dangerous lies. He is from the ‘general’ caste category and the reason why he (Rahul) knows this is because Modi never holds the hand of a farmer or worker. He only holds Adani’s hand. The final point he makes is that Modi will never allow a caste census and that is something only he, Rahul Gandhi, will do.
The reason why I have described this latest video in detail is because it reveals many things about the man that the Congress Party hopes will defeat Modi in this year’s general election. What it reveals to me is an unshakeable and ugly sense of entitlement. So, Modi is ‘your prime minister’ but not the prime minister. It reveals that the Dynasty’s heir has been mistakenly led to believe that all farmers and workers are from the backward caste category. As for what ‘general castes’ means, it is a category only he knows. What concerns me is that caste should suddenly have become so important in Rahul Gandhi’s eyes. What happened to foundational Congress ideas like secularism, liberalism and democracy?
As someone who truly believes that Indian democracy has been weakened by the absence of a challenge to Modi, I listened to Rahul’s words with deep dismay. Has he learned nothing at all from sitting on the opposition benches for ten years? The first lesson that he should have learned is that he must rid himself of that sense of entitlement. His family may have ruled India for most of her years as an independent country, but this does not mean that it is his birthright to rule India. It certainly sounds as if he believes that it is.
From the first days of Modi becoming prime minister, members of India’s former ruling Dynasty have treated him with disdain.
Remember the short, curt, bitter press conference addressed by Sonia and son when they conceded losing the 2014 election? Remember that Sonia could not bring herself to congratulate Modi and congratulated the new government instead. She refused to mention his name.
It is unfortunate that after losing two general elections the Dynasty still seems to think of Modi as an upstart, a usurper sitting on their throne. It shows that they have not yet discovered that Indian voters have changed since those long-ago days when a famous name was enough to fool them. The Congress ‘high command’ appears not to have noticed yet that political heirs or ‘potted plants’, to use Prashant Kishor’s unforgettable description, are no longer as popular with voters as they once used to be.
If the Congress Party is serious about taking on Modi, it needs a more convincing message than caste. Not many voters are stupid enough to believe that ordering a ‘caste census’ will create for them the new jobs and those other opportunities for bettering their lives that young Indians so badly need. Getting yourself declared an OBC is no guarantee of a job anymore. But nobody appears to have told Rahul Gandhi this, so in other videos from his Nyaya Yatra, he has promised to change the law that restricts reserved jobs for deprived castes to less than fifty percent.
As someone who believes that democracy is seriously endangered when there is the absence of a strong opposition it worries me that all that Congress has come up with as its ‘new narrative’ is this very old, caste census idea. It worries me because Modi 3.0 as the Prime Minister now describes himself is likely to be more autocratic than ever before. He has weaknesses that should be easy to exploit by those who seek to defeat him. A glaring weakness is Modi’s inability to take opposition or criticism of any kind. So, opposition leaders, critics in the media and civil rights organizations have had a rough deal in the past ten years.
What India needs in the coming general election is a political party, and a leader, who can promise a more liberal worldview politically and economically some ideas on how to create millions more jobs. Nothing is more important to young Indians than real jobs now. Today. Not Modi’s ‘guarantee’ of jobs in the distant future when India becomes ‘viksit’. For the Congress Party to promise a caste census instead of a new economic idea is almost suicidal. It is hard to see it as a winning narrative in the general election that is now just three months away.
Modi is so sure of victory that he made it a point to emphasise this in his speeches in Parliament last week. He talked of specific numbers. The BJP on its own will win more than 370 seats, he said, and with its allies will exceed 400 seats in the Lok Sabha. Only one Indian prime minister has done this in the past. Rahul’s Daddy. Only one prime minister has managed to win three straight terms. Rahul’s great-grandfather. Long, long ago in another India.
How shahi paneer, naan led cops to forgery accused couplePremium Story
What makes ants such great communicatorsPremium Story
Butter chicken fight: Can Moti Mahal, Daryaganj claim invention?Premium Story
Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya confused mish-mash of genresPremium Story
How to deal with a difficult boss in the workplacePremium Story
How Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann inspired this feature filmPremium Story
Aarya Season 3 - Antim Vaar ends with a whimperPremium Story
The Iron Claw is a befuddling wrestling tragedyPremium Story
Narangi Maas: From royals to your kitchenPremium Story
If the Congress Party is serious about taking on Modi, it needs a more convincing message than caste
17
10
11.02.2024
In case there are those of you who may not have seen it, I shall begin by describing Rahul Gandhi’s latest video from his yatra. It begins with him saying aggressively that Narendra Modi was not born an OBC (other backward class) and that he is of the ‘teli’ caste, which was included in the OBC list only in the year 2000. He then tells his audience that they have been fooled by ‘their prime minister’ who has told them dangerous lies. He is from the ‘general’ caste category and the reason why he (Rahul) knows this is because Modi never holds the hand of a farmer or worker. He only holds Adani’s hand. The final point he makes is that Modi will never allow a caste census and that is something only he, Rahul Gandhi, will do.
The reason why I have described this latest video in detail is because it reveals many things about the man that the Congress Party hopes will defeat Modi in this year’s general election. What it reveals to me is an unshakeable and ugly sense of entitlement. So, Modi is ‘your prime minister’ but not the prime minister. It reveals that the Dynasty’s heir has been mistakenly led to believe that all farmers and workers are from the backward caste category. As for what ‘general castes’ means, it is a category only he knows. What concerns me is that caste should suddenly have become so important in Rahul Gandhi’s eyes. What happened to foundational Congress ideas like secularism, liberalism and democracy?
As........
© Indian Express
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
