Modi speaks home truths in Rahul’s Amethi
The electoral fate of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and his rival from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Ms Smriti Irani, will be sealed today as Amethi goes to vote. Regardless of the result, two facts cannot be denied. The first is that Mr Narendra Modi's public rally on May 5 in Amethi — the last day of campaigning there — took the constituency by storm, with seasoned observers noting that they had seen nothing as impressive by way of the crowd number in this season of election in the constituency. The second is that it is for the first time in 10 years that Mr Gandhi has been made to sweat it out. He has relentlessly campaigned, alone and along with his sister Priyanka Vadra. There is even some talk of his defeat or at the very least a vastly reduced margin of victory as compared to 2004 and 2009. Whatever, we have to wait for May 16 to know the result. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate on Monday demonstrated by his rally in Amethi that his party did not consider —unlike Congress supporters and leaders — the constituency as a lost case for the BJP. The huge turnout showed that the people were disgusted by the lack of development during Mr Gandhi's two terms as Member of Parliament, disillusioned by their MP's lack of leadership skills and inclined to give the BJP a chance. Whether all of this translates into votes, we will know later. For now, what remains the highlight is the no-holds barred attack that Mr Modi launched against members of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the bluntness with which he countered their personal criticisms. Since the issues he raised were specific and of a contemporary nature, they found instant resonance with the people. That his remarks had struck where he wanted to strike became evident soon after when Ms Vadra responded to them. Taking on Mr Gandhi's charge that he was indulging in the politics of anger, Mr Modi hit back ruthlessly by pointing to the conduct of Rajiv Gandhi when he had, as Congress general secretary, humiliated the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, T Anjaiah, reducing the veteran leader to tears. Mr Modi reminded the people of Ms Sonia Gandhi's anger towards then Congress president Sitaram Kesri, who was thrown out of the Congress headquarters by Ms Gandhi's camp followers. And, finally, Mr Modi turned the screws further by telling the people how Ms Gandhi, angry over the side-lining of the first family during PV Narasimha Rao's tenure, had blocked the former Prime Minister's funeral from taking place in Delhi.
Predictably, Mr Modi's attack drew a sharp but non-credible response from the family. Ms Vadra claimed that Mr Modi had “insulted” her “martyred” father Rajiv Gandhi. How is criticism, backed by irrefutable material, of a leader an insult to his martyrdomIJ If Nehru-Gandhi family members can hurl baseless accusations at Mr Modi, and hope to get away with it, they must have the strength to face valid criticism too. The problem is that Congress leaders believe the Nehru-Gandhi family members are demi-god and above reproach. It is this servile mindset which has resulted in the party's failure to escape from the clutches of the dynasty and in the decline it faces today.