BHAMY V. SHENOY writes: For nearly a week now, newspapers in Karnataka have been devoting an obscene amount of space for the visit of an ordinary Congress MP from the North to the southern part of the State. Pictures of where he will land, where he will stay, the food he will eat, the meeting hall he will address, have all been published to great fanfare.
But for one single fact—of Rahul Gandhi belonging to the Jawaharlal Nehru family—is there any one standout reason why he deserves such a lot of attention? In a mature democracy where leaders are supposed to be elected on the basis of what they stand for and what they accomplish, what does such interest suggest?
That, as the general elections approach, the hereditary composition of the great grandson of Pandit Nehru, the grandson of Indira Gandhi, and the son of Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi has begun to excite the very elastic chromosomes of Congressmen—and a starstruck media is showing exaggerated interest in it.
Aside from being reasonably young and good looking, and an eligible bachelor to boot, what has Rahul Gandhi done to deserve such five-star treatment?
He has been a member of the Lok Sabha since 2004. The one major speech he made in Parliament, he read from a prepared text, flouting parliamentary norms. In the Uttar Pradesh elections, he led his party to a resounding defeat. He has shown an extraordinary ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong place.
Has he written one article expounding his views on various problems the Indian political system is facing today and what he would like to do? Does anybody know what his vision for India is? Has he shown any ability to attract the educated young (besides children of older Congressmen) to take up the cause of nation building?
Has he taken one small step to root out corruption, nepotism, casteism, favouritism, communalism?
Yet, we fawn over him and fete him like he is God’s personal gift to India?
As a result of his visit to Karnataka, will there be any impact on grinding poverty? Can such a flying visit spending few minutes in so many places give him an insight into the problems poor of H.D. Kote and Chamarajanagar face? Why then is such a tamasha getting such wide press coverage?
The reasons are obvious. Should there be a victory for Congress in the forthcoming general election, Rahul will be the nominee of Sonia Gandhi next time and not Manmohan Singh. Sonia’s “inner voice” will be loud and clear this time. There will be no sacrifice on her part.
Is this the democracy our founders fought for?
Also read: CHURUMURI POLL: Next change, Rahul Gandhi?
Photograph: Karnataka Photo News
churumuri 
“Has he taken one small step to root out corruption, nepotism, casteism, favouritism, communalism?”
That rules out every living/practicing politician…
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People are not blind..I’m sure Indian public is very intelligent now while casting their votes..Eee Rahul chokra ello iddavnu iga sudden agi prachara madthavone.
Congress mandige eno brame bandbuttidhe….Elli L.K.Advani antha yogya leaders and this college drop out Rahul..congress ge bandhiye adogathi…mannu tinni kharge/krishna/moily…ella kaige bale hakolli.
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and to add, even Tony Blair calls him the most talented and with lot of vision, a PM material…… even i dont get it
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AG, we are bound to see every politians in bad light. They are ALL corrept. They are all bad. But this case is different. this guy was missing along with his ‘phirangi’ girlfriend a few years back. Now he wants a Bharat darshan at the cost of taxpayers. A secret visit to Tribals area amidst Naxal activities… great PR! interested to know who is his AD agency! dont you think we have a right to ask for the DNA test of these ‘UNKNOWN’ new politians?!~
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If southern satraps and feudal sons like Kumaraswamy,MK Stalin,Naidu,Muralidharan have no GUTS to go to North, you cannot blame a northener for it.This family has atleast sacrificed Indira Gandhi,Rajiv Gandhi for descisions taken in national interest. I will not vote for sonia or Rahul but i feel Priyanka is anyday better bet than the likes of Chauthala,badal,thackeray, etc etc who are all using THE NAMES OF THEIR FATHERS AND FOREFATHERS.
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captainjohann,
>>This family has atleast sacrificed Indira Gandhi,Rajiv Gandhi for descisions taken in national interest.>>
Can you please elaborate on this?
Thanks in advance
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Sacrifice for nation…wonderful. People of our generation who have seen the excesses of emergency can never agree with this. Who gave prominence to Bhindranwale? What about Sikh massacre? Is it a Rahu(l) kaala for India? Discovery of India from Nanjangud….
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@mayura
Swami … “captainjohann” avru joke madtidare ;)
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@captainjohann
To travel to different places in India, you don’t need “GUTS” … you need money! Why and how much is Indian Govt spending on rahul gandhy for his “beedi nataka” (road show)? And if it spends, why choose only rahul gandhy?
And don’t hijack the issue away. It is about rahul gandhy and his “qualifications” to “lead india” (as even “approved” by former PM Liar..err, Blair).
Don’t show your prejudice against “southerners”.
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@captainjohann
“i feel Priyanka is anyday better bet than the likes of Chauthala,badal,thackeray, etc etc who are all using THE NAMES OF THEIR FATHERS AND FOREFATHERS.”
Oh really! …. now priyanka stands on “her own”. I thought the only “qualification” she has is being daughter of rajiv who in turn was son of indira, who in turn rose to power due to nehru, who in turn was son of congress president kotilal nehru ……… !!
And how dare this thackereys, badals and gowdas use their father’s name!
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“That rules out every living/practicing politician”
That doesn’t justify rahul gandhy right?
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After watching news about R’s visit many may think like this: What have our socalled MLAs and MPs have done all these years in solving the problems of tribals? When did it dawn to them that they have to do something? Is it because of the ensuing elections? The Congress , whether it was in power or opposition, including the new entrants, what have they done? It shows the callous attitude of the so-caled politicians who had not cared to visit these haaDis even once in their lifetime. Now they swarm there….only to please an MP. He will visit Mangalore on wednesday toknow the problems of fishing. Leaders may come and go the people have to toil for their existence.
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Dr Bhamy Shenoy has rightly voiced the concern of the right thinking electorates about this ‘Boy’ who has enjoyed his US stint as a student and getting prepared/projected to climb the ready Gaddi -the throne-at Delhi which has become the hereditary aasthi for the Nehru family.Probably they will quote Indian History which is full of the dynastic rule from Delhi.
We have enough of the sycophants here who are eagar to occupy seats of power in the state with no principles.This is an example as to how at the State expense one can get projected.The slavish mentality of so many has not subsided even after 60 years of Independence.Anybody coming from Delhi are considered ‘High’ and is supposed to have all the qualities, for those here,well they continue to be slaves to serve.
They is no sacrifice done by anybody occupying seats of power.
The threat to their life in that seat is there and severe threat may be there if they are Antinational or supporting any such outfits.Nobody is Mahatma Gandhi to sacrifice.Look at the way they live and the food they take, the enormous wealth they control in the name of Trusts even when they are outof power.
Who will listen to any sane voice when the whole polity is moving in that direction
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The quote employed by AG says it all. Would Rajiv Gandhi be what he is if he were interested in rooting out those evils?
Three questions I would lilke to ask R. Gandhi: What is the truth about your educational credentials? Was your entry into Harvard and Oxford “a legacy admission?” Education does not matter to us Indian folks, but do you have pieces of paper to show that you actually are degreed in addition to being pedigreed? Incidentally, the word “pedigree” these days is rarely used when referring to humans. As a sharp shooter and an equestrian, you know this.
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Dear maYura, Sathya others,
Indira Gandhi took the desicision to Kill Bhindranwalle in golden temple though it was an unpalatable one with Zail singh supporting Bhindranwalle.This descision taken in national interest cost her life. Ofcourse Black thunder was a better operation compared to Bluestar but her security advisors like Gen Sunderji etc advised for this operation.
Rajiv took the unpalatable descision to force Prabhakaran to sign the deal with Jeyawardene and even tried to kill him as per Gen who commanded the IPKF at that time. He did it in the national interest of India as peceived by his security advisors. He paid with his life.
How come Stalin,Kumaraswamy,naidu donot have money to travel to northern states? i cannot understand this? Why you guys are so obsessed with Rahuls education in schools. Everyone knows he has none as his mother. does IIT/IIM matter in politics?
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Education, even formal education, stretches the mind. With some education, RG might have acquired the sense not to say things like his family’s greatest accomplishment was splitting up Pakistan. Same problem with his daddy. He might not have said when a great tree falls, there is bound to be some collateral damage.
Maneka–Menaka, to give her real name before it was distorted by the late mother of the nation–for my money any day. She has that rare quality among the members of this make believe royal family–humility.
At Harvard, Rahul must have interacted with some of the best minds in the world despite the security measures taken to insulate him.
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Capt. Johann,
>>Indira Gandhi took the desicision to Kill Bhindranwalle in golden temple though it was an unpalatable one with Zail singh supporting Bhindranwalle.This descision taken in national interest cost her life. Ofcourse Black thunder was a better operation compared to Bluestar but her security advisors like Gen Sunderji etc advised for this operation.
Rajiv took the unpalatable descision to force Prabhakaran to sign the deal with Jeyawardene and even tried to kill him as per Gen who commanded the IPKF at that time. He did it in the national interest of India as peceived by his security advisors. He paid with his life.
>>
Bhindranwale was a creation of Indira Gandhi herself to decrease the influence of Akali Dal in Punjab and win the state over to congress. Pakistan fished in troubled waters to support Bhindranwale against India and hence the Khalistan movement. She paid with her life for this. There is no national interest invovled here.
Indira Gandhi, also supported LTTE and other sundry tamil freedomfighters(?) when she fully well knew where it would end. It was also done to appease the politicians from Tamil Nadu esp, MGR.
Rajeev took it to another level by signing a treaty with Jayawardhaney and sent the IPKF to sri lanka to rein in the LTTE, when he had no business to get involved in the internal matters of a sovereign country. He was assasinated for this. So the deeds of the mother was paid for by the son. Where is the national interest here?
Indira’s advisers told her to go easy on Z A Bhutto, during the Simla negotiation, even though we could have once and for all closed the kashmir issue since we had all the cards to play against pakistan. It is a irony that all here advisers that time were Kashmiri Pandits. As a result bhutto walked away with 90000 POW, while India got nothing in return.
>>Rajiv took the unpalatable descision to force Prabhakaran to sign the deal with Jeyawardene and even tried to kill him as per Gen who commanded the IPKF at that time.>>
This is not true, please read Gen. Kalkatt, the first commander of the IPKF in sri lanka where he recounts that thrice they were in a position to nab Prabhkaran, and J N Dixit(ambassador to sri lanka at that time) advised to let him go on the orders of Rajeev. The policy of GOI at that was still to keep Prabhakarn alive for a later date.
So whatever Indira and Rajeev did had nothing to do with National interest, but only to further their party interests.
With warm regards,
Mayura
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Surely,Indira and Rajiv had the interests of the nation.They had to fight seccessionist movements.
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Yeah right! Like Jaiprakash Narayan’s?
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Indira, Sanjay, and Rajiv did not sacrifice their lives. They invited self-destruction through imperialistic hubris. No tears for them from me.
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Nenne thamge badthana andre enu antha goththilla antha maatma gandi mommaga elavre. Avaru prime minishtraada mele namma badathana ecchaagadantu gyaranti.
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What is meaning discussing about the people who are not now in the world.
sacrifice is sacrifice. Now no parents or children thinking about nation. why dont younger genration try to come in to politics and make clean society. Every body wants easy life by working in forign and enjoy in discothecs. Atleast rahul trying to do something for nation. He is so simple living man we must encourage and support him. Now politicians become so currepted we must invite fresh water for better society.
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