The first outreach programme of Rahul Gandhi, a year-and-half after the Congress was thrown out of power and he occupied opposition benches, at Mount Carmel College in Bangalore left him hugely embarrassed.
By the time the interaction ended, it was clear that the Congress vice president, who kept on stressing on one word "conversation” with all concerned and on the position of women in society at large, was clearly out of sync with the popular pulse, at least those in this metropolis.
The questions were so pointed that Rahul for the first time accepted that GST was a good reformist bill and the Congress would support it if the government was inclined to engage with them and address "three concerns” including capping of taxes proposed in the bill.
Rahul seemed ill-prepared to handle questions which came from the young girls, which were a part of the format of the programme. Unfortunately for him, the big embarrassing moment for him came when while responding to a question, Rahul said that he did not think Swachh Bharat campaign was working. Rahul Gandhi then asked the students, "Ok, do you think Swachh Bharat campaign is working”? The students responded by a loud "Yes”. Surprised by the response, he said he would ask a different question: "You think Make in India is good”? Again there a loud "yes” came as answer. Rahul was clearly stumped not just by their approval of the PM Narendra Modi's Make in India but also the ferocity with which the students responded. "You think so!” he said. Then he asked do you think youth is getting jobs in India, the answer was a mix of yes and no. However, Rahul heard `No' for all the three questions he asked. He then said that the BJP's ideas have not worked.
This session must be particularly revealing to Rahul and the Congress, because for the better part of his opening statement, he had blasted PM Modi, the BJP and the RSS. He kept on targeting Modi for what he said the government at the centre was being run by one man and PMO controlling it all whereas he (Rahul) in contrast stood for dialogue, discussion conversation. He also said in his early part of his life he had been mostly in company of his grandmother, mother and sister and realized that the problem in this country was that the women did not get the respect and position they deserved.
But the kind of questions that came indicated that the most girls were not convinced of Rahul's argument on the positive aspects of the Congress party and evil nature of Modi and the BJP.
Interestingly, after he came out of the convention hall, he told the media persons, "Actually, it was not clear on Swachh Bharat, half of them said nothing has happened." On Make in India, he added that most said no, some said yes. The Congress vice-president was perhaps unmindful of the fact that his interaction was broadcast live on all national channels.
Sample the questions that came to Rahul from the young students. The first question came from a girl from the north-east-why was no conversation held with Iron Sahrmila during her years long fast?
The second question was, "You talk about a suit-boot (Modi) government, but what's wrong if it works for development and achieves economic growth…?
The next question was about GST, "GST is an important economic reform bill which was piloted by the Congress. Why is the Congress stalling it when it is moved by the BJP…?
The fourth query was, "Why is opposition stalling Parliament merely for opposing the government?"
One of the students asked, "Why is the youth going either to the BJP or to AAP, and not to the Congress party?"
The sixth question was, "Does aligning with the RJD in Bihar not mean that the Congress is compromising with corruption?"
The seventh question was, "Why, after several years of Congress rule both at the centre and in states, has the north-east been neglected?" (The girl asking the question referred to a particular stretch in Assam).
Such questions continued. Rahul's response was not very coherent and seemed to merely blame the Modi government for all the prevailing ills. For the alienation of north-east, he blamed the Modi government for withdrawing special status category to these states. To the question about the alliance with Lalu, he dodged the issue by saying that the Prime Minister was killing RTI, and by referring to Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
He obviously had a very rough landing at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. This was a place which, he would have thought, would provide him an ideal launching pad to set the "intolerance” agenda against Modi government for the winter session which starts on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi fumbles for answers to queries from Bengaluru students, left embarrassed
@Guynextdoor2 @ranjeet @Nilgiri @fsayed @The_Showstopper @jbgt90 @Rain Man @Tridibans @TejasMk3 @dadeechi @Rangila @MilSpec @SarthakGanguly
By the time the interaction ended, it was clear that the Congress vice president, who kept on stressing on one word "conversation” with all concerned and on the position of women in society at large, was clearly out of sync with the popular pulse, at least those in this metropolis.
The questions were so pointed that Rahul for the first time accepted that GST was a good reformist bill and the Congress would support it if the government was inclined to engage with them and address "three concerns” including capping of taxes proposed in the bill.
Rahul seemed ill-prepared to handle questions which came from the young girls, which were a part of the format of the programme. Unfortunately for him, the big embarrassing moment for him came when while responding to a question, Rahul said that he did not think Swachh Bharat campaign was working. Rahul Gandhi then asked the students, "Ok, do you think Swachh Bharat campaign is working”? The students responded by a loud "Yes”. Surprised by the response, he said he would ask a different question: "You think Make in India is good”? Again there a loud "yes” came as answer. Rahul was clearly stumped not just by their approval of the PM Narendra Modi's Make in India but also the ferocity with which the students responded. "You think so!” he said. Then he asked do you think youth is getting jobs in India, the answer was a mix of yes and no. However, Rahul heard `No' for all the three questions he asked. He then said that the BJP's ideas have not worked.
But the kind of questions that came indicated that the most girls were not convinced of Rahul's argument on the positive aspects of the Congress party and evil nature of Modi and the BJP.
Interestingly, after he came out of the convention hall, he told the media persons, "Actually, it was not clear on Swachh Bharat, half of them said nothing has happened." On Make in India, he added that most said no, some said yes. The Congress vice-president was perhaps unmindful of the fact that his interaction was broadcast live on all national channels.
Sample the questions that came to Rahul from the young students. The first question came from a girl from the north-east-why was no conversation held with Iron Sahrmila during her years long fast?
The second question was, "You talk about a suit-boot (Modi) government, but what's wrong if it works for development and achieves economic growth…?
The next question was about GST, "GST is an important economic reform bill which was piloted by the Congress. Why is the Congress stalling it when it is moved by the BJP…?
The fourth query was, "Why is opposition stalling Parliament merely for opposing the government?"
One of the students asked, "Why is the youth going either to the BJP or to AAP, and not to the Congress party?"
The sixth question was, "Does aligning with the RJD in Bihar not mean that the Congress is compromising with corruption?"
The seventh question was, "Why, after several years of Congress rule both at the centre and in states, has the north-east been neglected?" (The girl asking the question referred to a particular stretch in Assam).
Such questions continued. Rahul's response was not very coherent and seemed to merely blame the Modi government for all the prevailing ills. For the alienation of north-east, he blamed the Modi government for withdrawing special status category to these states. To the question about the alliance with Lalu, he dodged the issue by saying that the Prime Minister was killing RTI, and by referring to Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
He obviously had a very rough landing at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. This was a place which, he would have thought, would provide him an ideal launching pad to set the "intolerance” agenda against Modi government for the winter session which starts on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi fumbles for answers to queries from Bengaluru students, left embarrassed
@Guynextdoor2 @ranjeet @Nilgiri @fsayed @The_Showstopper @jbgt90 @Rain Man @Tridibans @TejasMk3 @dadeechi @Rangila @MilSpec @SarthakGanguly
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