In the eight years since he was elected to Parliament from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi has shown a lot of political promise but little else. As a leader of the new generation in the Nehru-Gandhi lineage, he was expected to play a prominent role, first in the party, and later, in government. In 2004, when his mother declined the prime ministership and instead asked Manmohan Singh to lead the country, Rahul’s reluctance to jump into governance was understandable. A quick, dramatic entry into Cabinet at that point would have undermined the Prime Minister, who had no political base of his own and who depended entirely on the Congress’s first family for his political survival. Rahul chose instead to work within the organisational ranks of the Congress; his decision was both tactical and strategic. The fact that he did not seem greedy for the fruits of power and appeared ready to go through the drudgery of field work did his public image a lot of good. But he also tried to use his leadership over the Youth Congress and students’ wing to democratise these organisations — and through them — the ‘mother party’. Though his efforts helped the Congress draw fresh talent, the grip of the old guard, sadly, remains just as firm today as it was eight years ago. More than the indifferent electoral results Rahul produced in Uttar Pradesh this year then, it is his failure to make a dent in the party organisation that must surely rankle more.
Clearly, Rahul Gandhi is not, and could never have been, the answer to all the shortcomings of the Congress. But if he is the heir-apparent, as the entire party thinks he is, and he is to be projected as a prime ministerial candidate in 2014, he must end his wanderings through the thicket of the party organisation and take on concrete ministerial responsibilities. Congress leader Salman Khursheed got it partly right when he lamented the fact that Rahul had so far only shown “cameos” of his thoughts and ideas. The answer, though, is not for him to come up with some “grand announcement” for India but to demonstrate to the people that he can actually administer, as a minister, some of the small but important infrastructure programmes of the UPA government. On Thursday, he indicated his readiness to take on a more pro-active role in the party and the government. He should forget about the party for now. In 2012, Rahul can have no excuse for staying away from the Cabinet. Anything else would appear as a shirking of responsibility, or worse, as aversion to working under Manmohan Singh. Indeed, his entry could give the Prime Minister a perfect opportunity to wield some long knives in his next Cabinet reshuffle and give younger ministers the responsibility they deserve.
UPA and the main ruling party the Congress has failed India and it's
people. A nation of Indias size and economy should have performed much
better. India has the resources and educated work force but the Indian Government has not been able to encourage and and give a business friendly environment to invest and grow. India can not hide
under the thame haht it is democracy and decision makeing takes time.
Every activity and decision makeing too much delay in India. The UPA
Government in the past seven years has encouraged corruption in a big
way by ignoring what was happening under it's nose.
Lets come to Ruhul. He has demonstrated in the past eight years that
he is a Dud and has no leadership or Managerial competience. Just because Rahul has the Gandhi name that does not mean he should be
the future leader. Even Manmohan Singh an economist has not been able
to lead the people and the nation. The Congress is devoid of any new
ideas or leaders
Dear Sir,What I like most in this editorial is your advice to Rahul that he must come forward to administer some important infrastructure programmes of the UPA government.This will be a great challenge and a great opportunity at the same time and a need of the hour also as the future of the Indian economy will be prosperous or perilous in direct proportion to how various infrastructure programmes are implemented by the government.Rahul must grasp the opportunity.
Chidambaram Kudiarasu
81/10 Muthukrishnapuram 6th Street
Tuticorin628001
it's very awkward to see Rahul Gandhi being the candidate for PM by
congress in 2014 loksabha election.it's democracy in india and
they(congress) should contest someone from their party who is the best
for the post of pm candidate .one's achievements should be seen and not
the family he belongs to. the voice is dominant nowadays that young
minds should be given opportunities ,but that doesn't mean without
evaluating one's talent and calibre.
Its a time of Rahul Gandhi to come forward and lead to India which India
has desperate need of a decisive and good leader.
I can't believe the hindu wrote it.The best way to evaluate rahul is to look at the level of development of Amethi his costituency.It is one of the poorest regions even today.Besides how come the hindu got to know that he is going to be the Pm candidate.It seems the daily is part of the same traditional mindsets that keep India backward.I am not following your editorial with the same devotion anymore.
All actions for correcting ills of the nation,are getting targeted against the present breed of politicians.He,who is ready to sacrifice,can lead the nation.
First, there must be an official age limit for Cabinet membership.
Two, rural development may be a good portfolio to test the political skills of Rahul. Especially whether he's up to the task of governing or not.
Third, Rahul should not be excused for political shortcomings, and like other's, he must be treated on equal basis.After all these decades of Congress, there is no place for nepotism in modern India.
I think oldies in Indian politics are scared of the power of youth. Rahul is a natural
choice for Congress to bring in new blood and modern thinking into politics.The grey
heads must give way to younger politicians. If Benazir could lead Pakistan's difficult
politics at age of 35,what is so wrong with Rahul to lead India's more mature
democracy.
I have nothing against Rahul but I feel the importance being given to the fact that he is the son of Ms. Sonia Gandhi is wrong. There is no place for dynastic politics in a large democracy like India and there must be inner party democracy for the good of the country.
The Hindu’s opinion that “Rahul can have no excuse for staying away from the Cabinet and anything else would appear as a shirking of responsibility” echoes the usual ‘spate of statements’ of Congress leaders. The Congress(I) must do so because only this Party has defined its ‘first family’. In true democracies, responsibilities are ‘entrusted’ to leaders by the people and political parties. Here, Rahul says he would ‘assume’ greater responsibilities, a reverse democratic practice. No wonder, it is readily accepted by the Congress party. But why The Hindu? Rahul further says the time he moves to his new role would be decided by the Party President, namely his own mother and the Prime Minister, “who had no political base of his own and who depended entirely on the Congress’s first family for his political survival”. Sonia Gandhi has already said that Rahul assuming greater responsibilities “would depend on him”. ‘He is the heir-apparent, as the entire party thinks he is’. When such comments would turn out to be ‘grand announcements for India’, it is anybody’s fate. The media shall play more purposeful role to educate the people on values of democracy.
If the party thinks that Rahul is the messiah for them and his entry into the cabinet gives them so much of joy and if it is really believed that he will make a difference other than claiming ownership to the PM's seat , in 2014, let him start by giving deliverables to the nation and then assume the role.
Let him become a role model for the younger generation , which he claims to be.
There is so much of hoopla made in the press that this is the event of the century.
Rahul Gandhi despite being an MP for 8 years hasn't spoken once in the
Parliament on any issue. One can either see this as his incompetence
to participate in a democratic system of whereby debate and dialogue
is the only answer to many problems or his ignorance for the problems plaguing our country as a whole. It is unheard of that an MP who
hasn't brought up serious issues in the public to even aspire to
become the future PM of the world's largest democracy. The state of
his constituency is well known yet not highlighted and understandably
so. It is time we start demanding performance from our elected
representative rather than giving them demigod status.
Rahul Gandhi is an emerging leader of indian politics. Apparently he had done a lot of strives to prove himself, but those endeavors were not enough. At many stages, he took acute decision in absentia any thought, which provided opportunity to opponents to comment on him. He has to spend more time to hold the rein of congress party.
A very sycophant behavior has been shown by the congress leaders in recent times . Rahulji till now in mere a novice in front of some veteran leaders in the party. Digvijay singhji, Salman khurshidji and many others in the party have buttery nature. they all have to understand that they have to face comeuppance for it..
Up til now, the protagonist is being identified with more said and less done. It is high time; it is in his own good that he stops being puerile or staying away from the onus. The heir-apparent has to be pragmatic now for a couple of months back all his efforts to drive youth to the party have evidently been in vain.
Though India is a democratic country, but this Gandhi dynasty has not done what was expected from them. From independence till now, these is no gandhi leader who made significant efforts for prosperity. License raj, giving power to states(which sow the seeds of corruption), Morarji Desai made green revolution happen, white revolution followed it. P V Narsimha Rao brought 91 reforms(Manmohan Singh was Finance minister than). The Nehru ideology can be seen in the govt now also. Congress leaders have curbed the growth of country for a period af hell 40-45 years(1947-1991)and their thought process is still to be like a BABU. rahul Gandhi, with no significant education is talked about more rather than scholars/socialists/economists who should take commanding positions now to take a leap forward.
Most family businesses are either dead or they changed their top level management with suitable heads. That's the way to survive. We should take the same approach for running our country also.
Things take shape on expected lines."4G launch" may be a domestic celebration in the Congress to perpetuate the dynastic rule. However, its merits or demerits would be proved by the coming events. Best wishes to the heir apparent!
Rahul Gandhi has miserably failed on three fronts, Party organisation, electoral (of elections in crucial states of UP, Bihar, Punjab, TN--) and on having ties with coalition partners. He has avoided pre poll alliances in most of the states that went to polls and was mainly responsible for the poor show of the Congress party. Having been projected as the prime ministerial candidate for 2014 elections, he needs to understand the grandiose of Indian politics which he was not able to. Even his counterparts such as Akhilesh, Omar Abdullah and the jailed YS Jagan Reddy have time and again shown their political acumen. What the Country wants is confine him to Party and project Ms. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the Prime Ministerial Candidate for 2014 which the main opposition NDA has no parallel.
The problem with Congress party is that any victory is attributed to the Gandhi family but the defeats are borne by State leaders. This has created a false aura on Mr. Gandhi's abilities. I can not recall any instance of Mr. Gandhi giving a meaningful speech or participation in Parliament debates. On most of the issues facing the nation, he gives vague answers, at best. I doubt if a stint at cabinet will be any useful. It is time he spends more time at ground level than getting a cabinet berth.
The country is in dire need of a strong and visionary leader - an
honorable administrator and statesman who has demonstrated his
success in good governance.
Why is there so much hyperbole about Rahul Gandhi? Because of his
lineage? There are so many other young leaders in the Congress who
can do better justice. Nepotism and sycophancy is destroying our
nation.
It is high time that Rahul Gandhi takes the same strain as UP elections and builds the Congress party to the pre-1967 era when lot of development took place under Sarvashri Kamaraj, C. Subramaniam, R. Venkataraman, Bakthavatsalam etc.
there is no doubt that Mr. Rahul Gandhi has got the caliber to be a good leader like Mr. Rajiv gandhi, still he has to work on some areas like motivating people, realising the necessity of taking right steps at times,more over not getting into such acts the lead him to the face something unplesant just what happened in recent past in UP election.So its necessary to be in libne rather than focusing in too many things.
From what little seen of Rahul, it is quite clear that he is far
from ready assuming top leadership. He requires to work his way up
transparently in ministerial capacity prove his mettle and stake his
claim to lead the party from the front. India is a very complex
and culturally heterogeneous. Even at normal times governing the
country requires super human art of leadership and is impossible to
please all sections of the society. A great statesmanship is
essential even to sustain status quo. World is now one giant
interconnected village and a leader’s action at every turn will be
observed and analysed threadbare universally. By its very nature,
contemporary society does not offer any fig leaf to hide and demands
leadership qualities honed to perfection by years of dedicated
public service.
Mr. Gandhi has politics in his blood, something inherited from his antecedents. I completly agreed from the statement that he is not able to make a bigger impact and its high time to change his track, for the better development of our country. But whatever he has done so far, that does not mark a brand of supreme politician on his character. He has seldom done any work for which people may applause for his effort. Having said that, i am not denying that he could be a good politician. This is something, however, he should not take very casually.
in my opinion rahul Gandi lacks the competience to be the prime minister of India .
He works only during the elections and and then disappears for 4 years is this right . if he really wants to prove himself he should take some concrete responsibilities and looks look forward at the 2014 elections other wise its a lost game for the congress this time with chunks of scandals and scams
If Mr Rahul Gandhi would have taken charge as PM in 2004, scene might
be different here but his faithfulness is declining day by day as he did
not took any smart step to curb the corruption and to restraint
inflation as he is understood as a big leader of UPA.
If he want to win the faith and support of people then he has to come in
front and has to take hard decisions and steps which could prove
fruitful otherwise only saying and not implementing policy will not work
longer.
Rahul Gandhi is not Rajiv Gandhi. The circumstances under which Rajiv Gandhi was propelled as PM were entirely different and the congress party commanded greater respectability than what it has now, Someone with the stuff of Sanjay Gandhi is badly needed by the party to lift it from the pit in which it has fallen. Does Rahul meet this requirement? The answer seems to be a big No .
The Hindu is a National daily which cares for the future of the Next generation . I fully
endorse the suggestion to Rahul Gandhi and also to give responsibility to the young leaders.
Whatever said and done by Team Anna there are clean politicians with simplicity like Dr.
Man Mohan Singh and A. K. Antony . If we want India to remain united the only Secular
National Party is Congress . If the Congress Party is to survive the only hope is Rahul
Gandhi. In my view a coalition of Regional Parties cannot Govern the Nation . All right
thinking people should give a chance to the well educated and well behaved young Leadres
in all the political parties to take up responsibilities and prove their talent .
I appreciate the responsibility of the Hindu in writing such an Editorial which is to be followed
by the Media which matters .
Is it so important to catch your editorial ?
Your editorial missed out on the most crucial issue. Rahul's ascendency to where he is now is principally due the lineage like his uncle and father and not due to his ability to lead, inspire and bring in fresh ideas. In Congress, SP, DMK and some regional parties, lineage is more important than abilities.
We all respect Nehru-Gandhi family for their role in pre and after
Independent India .But rahulji should always remember that we are living
in a democracy.He has to prove that he is the best candidate for the
P.M. POST.He should take right decision to win the heart of the people
of India.Best of luck rahulji !
Although it would be too premature to form any opionion on Rahul Gandhi, one has to admit that his track record for the last eight years of his political career has not been very enthusing. While his father, late Mr. Rajiv Gandhi had a cake walk for capturing the PM's post, the road ahead for Rahul will not be free of obstacles and difficulties. Victory in 2014 is not assured. Political alternative in NDA is equally disappointing, but within the UPA and NDA there are many aspirants for the post of the Prime Minister. Can this lead to formation of a third alternative? One cannot predict. History shows that it is very diffcult for any dynasty to rule beyond third or fourth generation. Weak successors eventually lead to rebellions and takeovers.The grandsons of the great Ashoka were so weak that the empire shrank, the chatraps rebelled and the rule in Patliputra was taken over by their general belonging to the Shunga dynasty. Will the history be repeated in the case of Rahul Gandhi too?
It is time that the country comes out of dynastic rule and leaders are
elected on their individual merits.It is time that our democracy shows
signs of maturity and get away from the shadow our feudal
past.Clamoring for a cabinet post to groom Rahul Ghandhi to become the
Prime minister in 2014 is nauseating for those who believe in
democracy.It is time to end sycophancy . Not that we have any thing
against the smart young man but he should not ride on the shoulder of
family legacy instead of his personal merits.
That way the recent UP election is a silver liner.People have shown
that Nehru-Indira dynastic consideration can not blind them.Congress is
having many matured and efficient leaders both old and young, who
should take the reigns rather than an heir apparent.
Salman Khursheed, as a committed sycophant ,can lament about reluctance
of Rahul Ghandhi to take up a cabinet post, but not the media,
particularly The Hindu, known for its commitment to democracy.
Not unexpected that Shri. Rahul Gandhi would take more job. But timing seems to indicate that Sri. Pranab's nomination itself was contrived for this so that an important portfolio, not necessarily finacne, awaits to test his calibre. But it would be better he concentrates in reviving the party, especially in States where most required, like Tamil Nad, rather than take part in the government. I am one who would like the two National parties to compete on ideology and not personalities. It is time for BJP to project its presence in the South and East. Left parties should also plan like wise.
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