New Delhi, November 2
Sycophancy, so very intrinsic to the Congress culture, was once again evident when the Talkatora Stadium today reverberated with a loud clamour for Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi to give his “gyan”, which he eventually did by presenting to an assembly of senior party leaders and workers his well-rehearsed “mantra” of “do Hindustans”.
Rahul also received accolades from the party’s top brass for his contribution in bringing new generation to the party fold. “This meeting appreciates and supports the initiatives taken by the Indian Youth Congress and the NSUI under leadership of Rahul Gandhi to bring about a new era of inclusive participation of youth in national service through an election-based political process at the grassroots level,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, amid applause, at the AICC session.
In her address, mother Sonia Gandhi also praised the Youth Congress and the NSUI for bringing in “a new generation of youth into the organisation through a democratic process”.
Rahul is the AICC general secretary in charge of the Youth Congress and party’s student wing NSUI. Towards the end of the session, just when all speakers had finished lauding Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her selfless service to the nation and the party, a loud clamour erupted, urging Rahul to speak.
With the party workers not relenting in their demand, the young leader, who till now had been sitting in the back row on the dais, had to get up to make an unscheduled speech.
Although the speech was a repetition of his recent discourses on “two Hindustans, one for the rich and the other for the poor”, it was enough to send the adrenalin surging in Congress rank and file. Referring to his intensive travels across the country and interactions with a cross-section of people, Rahul exhorted party men to work to bring the two “Hindustans” together.
“There are two Hindustans - one is growing very fast and the other is for the poor (which is in crisis).... We have to connect and unite the two,” he said, stressing that the Congress was the only party that could do that. “I have understood two things clearly. The first is that it is only the poor people who can take the country forward. And if we have to take the poor forward, the Prime Minister’s strategy for economic growth is a necessity,” he said, in a strong endorsement of Manmohan Singh’s policies.
Pledging to strengthen the party before the cheering audience, Rahul said all those who predicted the end of the Congress had been proved wrong as every year the strength of the party was increasing. As party members cheered and clapped, he concluded by saying “this (the speech) was not part of the plan. You caught me at the last minute”.
A Manmohan Singh look-alike created much mirth at the AICC meeting here with even Sonia Gandhi looking at him with amusement.