A jarring note

Former Congress president, Mr Rahul Gandhi has the knack of generating controversies even where there are none. The biggest source of controversies in his political life has been frequent foreign trips, some prolonged and others short-ones, but enveloped in mystery - mostly courtesy BJP and its social media-cell. He like any other Indian travelling on a valid passport and visa, is well within his rights to travel abroad. That certainly is not the issue and a reason to create a controversy.

In a pro-active democracy such as India, politics is a 24x7 task; a phenomenon which has been further cemented by a full-time politician like Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and his ilk. They eat, drink and sleep politics with, visibly, no means of diversion from the hectic politics like many of their predecessors, cutting across political lines. This could have been true of the past but this certainly does not go well with the taste and liking of the 21^st century, primarily young voter of India.

Nevertheless, even the voters of this age abhor political leaders missing in action at crucial times, electoral battles included. And when Mr Gandhi does so, who has been accorded villainous proportions by the Modi-led BJP machinery with its social media cell virtually eking livelihood by generating controversy about Mr Gandhi, it certainly catches imagination of the “captive” media.

Naturally, Mr Gandhi when suddenly embarked on a four-nation tour of far-flung South America, that too in the midst of crucial Bihar assembly elections, it is bound to trigger a controversy. Well, it certainly provided enough ammunition to the Sangh Parivar (BJP included) to hit back, though gleefully, questioning his seriousness about Bihar assembly elections where he had created a big issue of Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls three months before polls.

Whatever be the reason behind choosing or being advised to select South America (Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Chile) as his latest destination, it looks strange. It is both ill-timed and ill-advised.

Bihar, the nursery of politics that birthed many political movements, should have been borne in mind by Mr Gandhi and his advisors before embarking on a trip to a far-off region of the globe which has no direct bearing on the country’s electoral arithmetic nor it carries any big impact in the world’s diplomatic firmament. Even if diplomatically and economically the region has great significance, but for Mr Gandhi to exploit the situation from these perspectives is still at a distance. In order to reach that stage, he has at hand series of tough electoral battles to win.

Many, including the Sangh Parivar, have attached his foreign jaunts, particularly the latest one, to Mr Gandhi’s quest for cultivating an international image for himself, or for fun and frolic. There is no denying the fact that interactive foreign visits, as he has been doing, give a first-hand account to the world about the leader’s vision and help him/her developing a worldview. But it is directly related to ground realities and conditions prevailing back home at a particular time.

In this regard, Mr Gandhi selecting South America for his visit when Bihar is preparing for an intense electoral battle, is only baffling. When BJP has pressed all buttons and Prime Minister Mr Modi is already going full steam aided by his close confidant, Home Minister Mr Amit Shah, and Congress-led I.N.D.I.A combine struggling for seat adjustments, his foreign tour at such a juncture is a jarring note. It is totally unconvincing from every angle.

No advisor can be squarely blamed if a leader accepts the advice without mulling over and weighing the pros and cons. But, in case, a leader does so, reposing full confidence in his advisors, then the blame has to be equally shared. Onus still will lie on the leader than the advisor.

From all available indications, it is clear that Indian Overseas Congress chairman, Mr Sam Pitroda, who is also a close confidant of the Gandhi-family, is the driving force behind chalking out Mr Gandhi’s foreign tours. Although an old hand in politics, being an integral part of Gandhi family’s inner circle from the time of former Prime Minister Mr Rajiv Gandhi, his repeated faux pas on issues political, has done more harm to Mr Rahul Gandhi on domestic front than it benefitted his image in the international arena.

Lack of sense of timing and understanding of the political ethos, with its new off-shoots in the Narendra Modi-era, on the part of Mr Pitroda has repeatedly landed Mr Gandhi in trouble in the recent past. It is beyond comprehension that why Mr Gandhi headed to South America before Bihar assembly elections which could have direct bearing on the national politics. And if he acted on the advice of Mr Pitroda, then the latter has to do lot of explaining if the Congress failed to capitalize on the political situation developing in Bihar.

Mr Pitroda should have realized, and so Mr Gandhi, that either his unannounced foreign visits or the visits undertaken at crucial junctures, push the Congress to a corner. As is happening presently, the entire party machinery diverts its attention and efforts to deflect high-octane propaganda of the Sangh Parivar questioning the purpose of his foreign visits and attaching various motives. This is an avoidable situation and best Mr Gandhi can do is to spare his party from the ignominy of defending his foreign-jaunts at times when the organization should focus somewhere else.

The seemingly avoidable foreign tours at wrong junctures act as self-inflicted wounds. In the sense, it directly helps the BJP by providing them ammunition to keep the attention riveted on Mr Gandhi, most of the time taking refuge in false propaganda. But why provide such an opportunity to an aggressive political rival who does not abjure using even the foul means to tarnish your image?

Under the circumstances, the Congress has no alternative but to doggedly defend Mr Gandhi’s South America visit. It has no option but to present this trip as an effort to build democratic and strategic partnerships, notwithstanding the fact that the timing of his tour has once again raised serious question back home.

This has also triggered criticism about his “wrong priorities”. A responsible leader would, under normal circumstances, use his time to prepare for strategies, relate to the people on the ground, and consolidate his party ahead of a large election. Rahul Gandhi, instead, has opted to go on another foreign trip, the ruling dispensation quarters are alleging, thereby stating that he does not take politics seriously and has made it a part-time venture.

In this context the RSS mouthpiece Organiser has, from the Sangh perspective raised some questions:

Foreign engagement or political absenteeism?

Mr Gandhi does not hold any formal government office; in what capacity is he representing India?

As a politician without specialised expertise in trade, economics, or the international relations, can his meetings meaningfully influence bilateral relations, or are they largely ceremonial?

And, more critically, could these trips serve to enhance Mr Gandhi’s personal image abroad while diverting attention from pressing domestic politics?

These questions at best form part of the tool-kit which has been developed against him. As Leader of Opposition, he has every right to take up foreign visits to improve bilateral relations through greater interactions whether he has the expertise in a relevant field or not.

The bigger question is about the timing of the South America visit and the underlying goal. Happening at a crucial moment, it should not be an exercise in self-aggrandisement.