Have Rahul Gandhi’s Utterances Become A Liability For The Congress?

In this election season, has Rahul Gandhi’s utterances during the UK tour become a liability for the Congress? Well, the speeches delivered by him at a number of events in London have been a flashpoint between the BJP and the Congress and have led to the stalling of the Parliament for the 7th day in a row during the Budget Session. Rahul may have asserted that criticizing PM Modi or his government is not an “attack on India”, but party sources admit that his Cambridge speech where he spoke about “democracy in India” is under attack has not been liked by people at large. In fact, Congress leaders say at a time when the party is in a good position to win the Karnataka assembly elections, Rahul should not be “visible” during the election campaign. “The more Rahul Gandhi campaigns, Congress will stand to lose,” points out a party strategist. There was poor public response to his first rally in Belagavi on March 20 where he announced a series of sops such as Rs 3,000 to every unemployed graduate every month for two years as is done in Chhattisgarh. In contrast to the kind of reception PM Modi recently received in Belagavi, the crowds were simply not enthusiastic about Rahul.  Besides, many in the Congress felt the Chhattisgarh model of unemployment dole cannot hold well in a progressive state like Karnataka where more educated jobless youths will be found.