Skip to main content

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

Comments

TRENDING

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram*   When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah  Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández  The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

​ By Ram Puniyani  ​The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue. 

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos  The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar*  Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement. 

Beyond the election manifesto: Why climate is now a kitchen table issue

By Vikas Meshram*  March has long been a month of gentle transition, the period when winter softly retreats and a mild warmth signals nature’s renewal. Yet, in recent years, this dependable rhythm has been disrupted. This year, since the beginning of March, temperatures across vast swathes of the country have shattered previous records, soaring to between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius in some regions. This is not a mere fluctuation in the weather; it is a serious and alarming indicator of climate change .

As India logs historic emissions drop, expert warns govt against 'policy blunders'

By A Representative   In a significant development that underscores the rapid transformation of India's energy landscape, new data reveals the country recorded its largest drop in power sector emissions in 2025. However, a top power sector analyst has urged the Union Government to view this "silver lining" as a stark warning against continuing to invest in new coal, large hydro, and nuclear projects, which he argues could become "redundant" stranded assets.