Under criticism for his comments on the North vs South divide, along with his gaffe demanding a fisheries ministry in India even though there already exists one, senior Congress leader and the younger of the Gandhi scions, Rahul Gandhi tried to deflect the attention by venturing into the sea.
Gandhi’s escapade into the sea off the Thangassery harbour in Kollam district and swam alongside the fishermen from Kerala was captured in a video that was released on the internet a short while later. And soon enough, Congress supporters and lackeys went head over heels in love with their leader for his ‘kindness’ to socialise with the local fishermen and his ‘bravery’ to jump into the sea.
A motley collection of neutral journalists, leftist social media influencers, Congress supporters and assorted propagandists could not stop themselves from expressing their admiration for Rahul Gandhi over the incident. They took to Twitter to fawn over the Wayanad MP’s ‘brave jump’ into the Arabian Sea, singing paeans to the Gandhi scion.
Journalist Sunetra Choudhary seemed incredibly awestruck with the video that she shared footage and asked her followers if they had watched it.
Vinod Kapri, a self-proclaimed journalist, lamented over the non-coverage of Rahul Gandhi’s event in Kerala. Attacking media over the lack of coverage, Kapri claimed that media would have referred to the person as a ‘superman’ or ‘waterman’ if it was someone other than Rahul Gandhi.
Similarly, others too shared the video footage and sang praises to their leader, seemingly for swimming in an open sea. Amidst this cacophony, the contentious remarks made by the Gandhi scion on North Indian and his gaffe of demanding fisheries ministries were brushed aside as the entire Congress ecosystem swung into action to go gaga over their leader’s actions.
Defending the spectacle, obsequious Congress supporters and leaders claimed that the entire affair was an off the cuff event. It is to be noted that popular Kerala-based vlogger, Sebin Cyriac, was also present on the occasion, and had shot the video that had gone viral on the internet. In the light of these details, it is anybody’s guess if the spectacle was spontaneous or staged.
Nonetheless, this did not discourage Congress supporters from expressing their enthusiasm over the event. Another set of servile supporters used a picture of drenched Rahul Gandhi to drool over his supposed ‘six-pack abs’. Though Gandhi was sporting a t-shirt in the picture, Congress leaders and supporters were too observant to declare that the Gandhi scion had abs. Sharing the picture, Congress leader Vijender Singh hailed Gandhi as a boxer and tweeted, “Abs of a boxer”.
Congress propagandist Gaurav Pandhi posted a tweet asking Rahul Gandhi to share tips with everyone on getting such ‘abs’.
A few days later, another opportunity presented itself, and Congress loyalists wasted no time in pouncing on it. A video of Rahul Gandhi doing push-ups during an interaction with students at a Tamil Nadu school was released on social media websites. And Congress leaders and sympathisers instantly grabbed the opportunity to go into raptures over their leader.
Gandhi was in a campaign blitz in Southern India, but his vision for the Southern states or the poll promises made by him were not something that Congress supporters seemed to be interested in. Instead, they were enthused by the Wayanad MP’s fitness levels. Shortly after Gandhi’s push-up video surfaced on the internet, Congress supporters started sharing #RahulPushUpChallenge, calling on people to share videos of themselves doing 10 regular push-ups and 1 one-handed push-up.
This excessive adulation is not just limited to Rahul Gandhi alone. Even his elder sibling, Priyanka Gandhi, is venerated and idolised to the same extent. Priyanka Gandhi was recently in Assam, canvassing for the upcoming Assembly polls and interacting with the local people. But what had the Congress functionaries and leaders in awe of the Gandhi scion was not the promises she made or assurances she gave. Instead, they were dazzled with her smile.
Congress supporters remain perpetually in awe of the Gandhi duo
For a long time now, Congress supporters, sympathisers and loyalists have been in awe of the Gandhi siblings. This veneration of the Gandhi duo stems from the lineage they belong to and the tremendous power they wield.
It is a fact that Gandhi siblings were raised in a privileged environment. They had all the resources at their disposal. The fact that their great grandfather, grandmother and father had served as the Prime Minister of the country and their family had the reins of India’s oldest political party even before India attained its independence only adds to the privilege and the entitlement enjoyed by the Gandhi scions.
However, the reverence to the Gandhi duo becomes particularly stark when the siblings are seen socialising with the gareeb (poor) Indians. When the Gandhi duo is seen commingling with the poor masses, the Congress supporters go into overdrive to lavish praises on the siblings, lauding them for supposedly shunning their innate privileges to interact with the poor and using epithets such as ‘down to earth’, ‘humble’, ‘people’s leaders’ and so on to describe them. It shows that despite more than 70 years of India’s independence, the colonial hangover of the Congress supporters continues unabated, manifested in their obsequious deference to the Gandhi siblings.
The poor Indian masses are used merely as propaganda prop by the Congress supporters to glorify their leader. For the Congress party, poor Indian masses is a vote bank that can be easily manipulated and used to defeat a formidable opponent. It is to this end, that Congress leaders and its supporters fall over themselves to use poor for their propaganda purposes.
In fact, for decades now, the poor and the grinding poverty they have to live in is exploited by the Congress party for their self-serving agenda. In the 1970s, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of the country, made ‘Gareebi Hatao‘(Remove poverty) the theme and slogan of her election campaign. However, decades later, India still continues to be gareeb.
Even Rahul Gandhi attempted to resurrect the poverty issue to revive his political fortunes. In the run-up to the 2019 General elections, Gandhi blew away the cobwebs and echoed the same slogan with a promise to eliminate poverty with a Universal Basic Income scheme. Even after 40 years, Congress’s use of the same theme to solicit votes is a scathing indictment of how the gareeb Indians were reduced to being puppets by the Congress party in its bid to advance its political ambitions.
Additionally, while Congress supporters and sympathisers go gaga over their leaders mingling with the poor masses, they take strong objection when others socialise with the poor. On several occasions, they have dismissed PM Modi’s outreach programmes for the poor as publicity stunts, pulled off only to gain popularity among the masses. They, perhaps, fear that PM Modi, who has himself witnessed the days of dire poverty and who has risen through the ranks and was not born with a silver spoon like the Gandhi siblings, would forge a robust bond with the masses, rendering the Gandhi duo’s charm-offensives of poor futile.
