FEBRUARY 2014
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POINT<br />
OUT<br />
COVER STORY GENERAL ELECTION<br />
actively voicing his concerns on national issues<br />
and policies. To make an impression<br />
that he is serious in his fight against corruption<br />
like in the case of the Lokpal Bill,<br />
Rahul differed with the views of Congress-<br />
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Maharashtra<br />
government that had rejected the<br />
Aadarsh scam report. However, that his<br />
party-led government made a symbolic<br />
gesture and accepted the report only partially<br />
is another story. So whatever RaGa<br />
may think, the message that has gone to<br />
the public is that his party can hardly tackle<br />
corruption.<br />
It is too late for Rahul or Sonia Gandhi<br />
to undo the damage caused by the 10<br />
years of UPA rule highlighted by some of<br />
the biggest scams in independent India,<br />
like the 2G spectrum allocation, Coal<br />
Sensing the mood in the party,<br />
Rahul too has come out of his<br />
shell and is more actively<br />
voicing his concerns on national<br />
issues and policies<br />
mine allocation and the Commonwealth<br />
Games scam among others. For greater<br />
part of the decade, the mother-son duo<br />
hardly spoke on these issues and with rising<br />
inflation, and fuel and LPG prices, the<br />
common man has developed a distaste for<br />
the Congress party that is seen as corrupt<br />
and inefficient.<br />
Moreover, till recently, Rahul Gandhi’s<br />
stoic silence on issues relating to governance<br />
and policies had left the masses confused.<br />
If he can take some effective steps,<br />
given the little time left for the Lok Sabha<br />
elections, he might only be able to arrest the<br />
party’s slide at best. Rahul has woken up to<br />
the situation too late and finds himself in a<br />
tight spot with AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal toppling<br />
him and the Congress to emerge as<br />
the main challenger to Narendra Modi. The<br />
fact that Rahul’s presence had hardly made<br />
any difference to the Congress prospects<br />
in the recent assembly elections makes his<br />
task all the more daunting.<br />
His sudden belligerence supported by<br />
the advertisement blitz launched by the<br />
Congress party has come a bit too late.<br />
Only time would tell the exact fate that<br />
awaits RaGa.<br />
22<br />
<strong>FEBRUARY</strong> <strong>2014</strong>
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