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Was Rahul ill-advised? By criticizing Modi, did he try to appease Chinese?

Rahul Gandhi with Jagdish Tytler
By Firoz Bakht Ahmed*
It seems that Rahul Gandhi has decided not to grow. Rahul’s displaced questions to the Narendra Modi government appears to be more as an effort to vitiate the atmosphere of patriotism. It only further helps bury the image of the already shattered Congress. Amidst trying circumstances at the India-Chinese borders, he asked where Modi was hiding.
Rahul also said that the Indian soldiers were martyred as they were unarmed, without understanding the history of the Sino-Indian 1993, 1996, 2005 and 2013 border management agreements. He should have known, these the agreements of using no arms wasn’t effected by BJP but under the Congress.
Indian soldiers were massacred with some very deadly weapons. They could have used firearms, but respecting the Sino-Indian treaty, they preferred to sacrifice their lives. In the process they inflicted an equal number of casualties on the Chinese. Rahul and his supporters tend to overlook this.
In fact, Rahul should explain the conspiracy behind the MoU that took place between the Congress and China. Does he know that, in 1951, BR Ambedkar resigned as, apart from other things, he was also very upset with Jawaharlal Nehru’s China policy? Clearly, Ambedkar was critical of Nehru’s treatment of Kashmir and held him responsible for losing our territory. Ambedkar’s prophesy has true today.
Congress chief ministers appear to have no fondness for Rahul. The Rajasthan chief minister was reportedly upset at the way Priyanka Gandhi indulged in the tantrum of sending 1000 buses from his state to Uttar Pradesh for migrant workers. Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh is also not cosy with Rahul either.
Was Rahul ill-advised? By criticizing Modi, did he try to appease Chinese, whom he has been meeting time and again, including the Chinese ambassador, Luo Zhaohui and Wang Yi (now the Chinese foreign minister)? Rahul’s views appear to be soothing China, Pakistan and Nepal – all India’s adversaries. He must understand that during these Covid-19 days, it is a time to strengthen the government and not score brownie points.
Rahul went to Kailash Mansarovar, where he met Chinese officials, but did not disclose what all happened in the meeting. One wonders if there is something fishy in that against the interests of the nation.
Perhaps Rahul doesn’t know the parameters of how to manage a situation as an opposition leader. No opposition leader has acted the way he has. When Narasimha Rao was the foreign minister of India, he used to send Atal Behari Vajpayee, then a leader from the opposition, to defend India in the UN as the Indian trumpcard and he used to come out as the winner.
Culture of sycophancy is nothing new in Congress. Once I saw Jagdish Tytler, senior Congress leader, touching Rahul Gandhi's feet
The more Rahul, Sonia Gandhi and their associates have demonized Modi with remarks like “Chowkidaar chor hei!” “Yamraj”, “Maut ka saudagar”, “Ravan”, “Gandi nali ka keeda”, Bandar”, “Rabies Victim”, “Virus”, “Bhasmasur”, “Gangu teli”, “Goon”, “Neech” it has only boomeranged on the Congress’ prestige. The Congress has lost credibility because of lack of internal democracy and pride in dynastic politics. Elderly Congressmen feel humiliated. 
The culture of sycophancy is nothing new with the Congress. Once I saw Jagdish Tytler and Jaiprakash Aggrawal, both senior Congress leaders, touching the feet of Rahul. Rahul should have stopped them from doing so by giving a sign of humility. I felt dismayed at the annihilation of the glorious Indian tradition of youngsters touching the feet of the elderly.
In 1991, Tytler was the minister of the newly set up food processing ministry. I met him in order to promote a new idea as Rajiv Gandhi came up with the idea after touring Brazil with Sonia Gandhi. I went to his ministerial office with the questionnaire, where he answered first two questions after which he apologized, requesting that he was preoccupied. The rest of the questions would be answered on his behalf by his private secretary, Gopal Parke.
Gopal answered the remaining questions and the interview was carried in “The Current” weekly. Immediately after that, I was picked up from my workplace, JD Tytler School, even though I was managing the morning assembly. In a jeep, I was taken to Akbar Road-2, the residence of Jagdish Tytler.
In the minister’s drawing room, I saw Ayub Syed, editor of “The Current” was present. He reproached me, “Firoz, I thought of carrying this interview thinking to encourage you as you are a young journalist and that the ministry is new. What have you written! Now I am in hot soup.” I was puzzled as nothing in the article was cantankerous.
Tytler told me Sonia Gandhi had taken exception to the interview, which had state that the food processing ministry was created at her behest. He asked me to write an apology to be carried as corrigendum in the next issue of the newspaper stating that I never took the interview. This left me aghast. Being employed by him, I had no way out and was forced to write the apology.
The nemesis has now fallen upon both the Congress. Thanks to Tytler and likes, the Congress is today reduced to one-eighth of its normal strength.
---
*Chancellor, of Maulana Azad National University, Hyderabad; grandnephew, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

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