NEW DELHI: The secret to humour is surprise, said Greek philosopher Aristotle. On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi used laughter in a variety of shades — sarcasm, irony, banter and more — to ambush the Modi government. The Congress vice-president sarcastically used the analogy of Fair and Lovely cream to illustrate how the amnesty scheme announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday contradicted Modi’s earlier promise of bringing back black money and punishing the guilty.
Derision without vitriol was again in evidence as he spoke of the omnipresent‘babbar sher’, the logo for the BJP-led government’s Make in India initiative. “On internet, TV, it is everywhere. The stage was burned down (in Mumbai) but the lion was there,” Rahul said.
But beyond the easy demeanour was a serious politician who chipped away at the apparent failures of the Union government on issues such as black money, unemployment, intolerance towards dissent and more. Rahul framed his support of JNU students as solidarity with Dalits, minorities and Adivasis — seeking to buffer himself from any charges of sedition.
To his partymen and his admirers, the speech was a revelation. Rahul spoke with an easy confidence. Even when he made mistakes, he didn’t lose his poise. Gone was the dour, halting style of the past.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said senior ministers in the Modi government were not being kept in the loop over important decisions and were scared to speak.
Addressing LS, Rahul said home minister Rajnath Singh, the official number two in the pecking order, was not aware of the decision to sign the Naga accord. He also said while Sushma Swaraj, officially number three in the hierarchy, was not being consulted, finance minister Arun Jaitley could not bring himself to share his thoughts with PM Modi because he was scared to speak.
Importantly, Rahul's dig at the Naga peace accord by saying it was hyped up and has since vanished in thin air has put the focus on the agreement with National Socialist Council of Nagaland and may require the Centre to follow through the announcement.