RaGa FINDS RHYTHM

As leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi is savouring his biggest electoral success, and fashioning himself as the voice of the people. His growing stature, however, comes with its share of challenges

- SONI MISHRA

CONGRESS LEADER RAHUL GANDHI recently had an interaction with students protesting the malpractices in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to medical colleges. Rahul asked their opinion on what was wrong with the manner in which the exam was held. “Please tell me what we can do for you,” he told the students. “We will certainly raise the issue in Parliament.”

The demands of the students included scrapping the test and holding a retest, and overhauling the exam machinery. Here was the preeminent leader of the Congress, the principal opposition party, not imposing his own views on students but seeking to learn from them what he and his party could do for them.

The interaction gave a glimpse into the fashioning of Rahul as a leader who listens to people and empathises with them. And Rahul’s attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over the NEET paper leak showed what his approach was going to be as the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha. “The opposition has demolished the concept of Narendra Modi. This concept was based on thousands of crores worth of marketing and the fear of agencies,” Rahul said at a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Delhi. “Now, nobody is afraid of him. He is psychologically on the backfoot. He is not bothered about NEET or any other issue. His sole agenda is to save his government.”