Congress leaders and workers may call Rahul Gandhi’s two-day visit of J&K as a big success; they are entitled to do so. But they should also not laugh away the traits that he has in his bahaviour, demeaning Prime Minister of the country. Narendra Modi is Prime Minister of the great Indian nation and he represents all Indians, including Rahul Gandhi. The added and the most shinning factor is that he is the Prime Minister for a third-term in row, the only parallel to that is Jawaharlal Nehru , great grandfather of the Congress leader, who chose to attack on confidence of the Prime Minister during his visit to Srinagar and Jammu.

POLITICAL PULSE

Rahul Gandhi is in habit of demeaning Prime Ministers. The visuals of his tearing papers of the Bill in full glare of cameras, when Dr Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister, are still fresh in public memory. Dr Singh was the Congress Prime Minister and if he had any issues with the PM that time, he could have discussed it with him as he had all the unconstitutional power vested in him, the government was being run from 10 Janpath .
As Leader of Opposition, the office he has earned after his party scored 99 seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Rahul needs to grow and understand his responsibility more than ever before. He should know that his words and actions are watched closely, and will be commented upon.
Just for the sake of crude humour and some laughter from his party workers, he mimicked the body language of the Prime Minister and declared that “the Congress has shaken the confidence of Narendra Modi.” He should have known what his words are and to whom these are directed at. He was not targeting Modi as an individual, though the Indian culture and ethos teach us that there should be respect for each and every one in society, particularly when they are your political opponents. Modi is Prime Minister of India, the country which the world respects for its accomplishments in the field of science, technology, space missions and its rapidly-growing economy. India is the fastest growing economy in the world, far ahead of the developed nations – USA and European countries.
It is for the Congress to ponder that what kind of leader Rahul Gandhi is, who doesn’t know what to say from where. He should accept the reality of Modi’s prestige and dignity as Prime Minister of the 1.40 billion people of the country. India is the most populous country in the world, and its people are respected all over the globe. A part of this respect has come to them ever since Modi became Prime Minister in 2014.
Rahul Gandhi should have taken two things in mind before saying what he said about Prime Minister and from where did he say that. First , no civilized leader can ever mimic the Prime Minister of the country . This was not a theatre where he was performing as an actor. He was addressing Congress workers in Srinagar and Jammu on Thursday. He repeated his words and act in Jammu after having done so in Srinagar, speaks of his obsession with his way of thinking about the individuals occupying the highest institutions in the country.
Second thing which he should have been conscious of is that he was speaking from Jammu and Kashmir where international attention never goes away. This is a place where inimical elements still exist, and Pakistan is always looking out for something anti-Modi. Rahul Gandhi by using a low-standard language and action against the Prime Minister has given a handle to such elements and countries.
This also showed that he has respect for none. It was ironical that he was seeking respect for his party workers in any alliance, though National Conference and Congress are working out the nitty gritty of their alliance at the moment, he should have been aware that respect begets respect. If you cannot honour and respect the PM, how could you expect respect from others. During the visit, Rahul Gandhi made a statement at a so-called press conference, promising to work for restoration of statehood to J&K. Good enough. Where was his confidence when he declined to take any questions, what kind of press conference was this?
Had he spoken about his and his party’s stand on Article 370 and his proposed alliance partner NC’s intention to bring a resolution for the restoration of Article 370, he could have been termed as a leader who was self-confident. He knew that he cannot answer these crucial questions, he lacked the confidence. Whose confidence has been shaken, Rahul Gandhi.