By PTI
HYDERABAD: Rahul Gandhi doesn’t like backseat driving or asserting his authority and his best worth going ahead shall be to play the position of an ‘ideological compass’ for the Congress, senior chief Jairam Ramesh mentioned on Wednesday.
Per week after Mallikarjun Kharge, the primary non-Gandhi president in over 24 years, took cost of the celebration, Ramesh mentioned some individuals are calling Gandhi the elephant within the room however his response is that the previous celebration chief is definitely a ‘tiger on the highway’.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh advised PTI, has been a ‘actual booster dose’ for the general public relationship of the celebration and its “two Cs”- connectivity for Gandhi and collectivity for the organisation. The most tangible impression is on Congress organisation. Congress morale is now at terribly excessive ranges. Whether it will translate into long-lasting public help is now depending on the organisation,” the senior chief mentioned.
Ramesh, who can be strolling within the Yatra, cited thinker and thinker Albert Camus to explain Gandhi’s management type — “Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me.”
“Having known Mr. Gandhi for 18 years, and I know him fairly well, he does not like backseat driving, he does not like asserting his position or authority, he is a very democratic person,” Ramesh mentioned.
The journey undertaken by the celebration has had a transformative impression when it comes to perceptions of Gandhi that had been “distorted very heavily” by the “BJP troll machine”, he mentioned in an interview with PTI throughout the Yatra right here.
For him personally on the age of 68 in addition to for the celebration organisation, the Yatra is the “last throw of the dice” and a “huge gamble”, Ramesh mentioned.
Asked what position Gandhi would play with Kharge taking up the celebration’s reins, the Congress normal secretary in-charge communications mentioned it’s as much as Kharge and Gandhi to resolve that.
“Speaking as a Congressman, an office bearer, member of Parliament, I think Mr Rahul Gandhi’s greatest value will be to play the role of an ideological compass for the party,” he mentioned.
Every celebration wants an ideological compass or an ethical compass, and Rahul Gandhi is ideally fitted to that position, Ramesh argued.
“Now whether he plays that role or not is entirely between him and Mr Kharge. I can only speak for myself. I think his comparative advantage lies in playing the role of an ideological or moral compass, something like the role Mr PN Haksar (former principal secretary to PM) played vis-a-vis Mrs Indira Gandhi from 1967-73,” he mentioned.
“Of course Mr Haksar was a backroom man whereas Mr Gandhi is very much a front room person,” he added.
Discussing the Yatra, which began at Kanyakumari on September 7, Ramesh mentioned what it has performed very visibly is energise the Congress organisation, be it in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana.
“The Bharat Jodo Yatra, I would not say has opened a window of opportunity, it has opened a door of opportunity. The narrative around the Congress and Gandhi has been transformed, it is no longer a negative vilification narrative,” the senior Congress chief mentioned.
It is a story that acknowledges that that is fairly a novel try at mass contact, Ramesh mentioned.
Asked if Gandhi has been a revelation throughout the Yatra, Ramesh mentioned, “I would not say revelation, it is a revelation for the people who vilified him, who ran him down. It is the real person who is covering 22 km every day. So it is not a new Rahul, it is the real Rahul that has come out.”
There was a marketing campaign ever since 2009 — when the Congress got here again with a heightened majority — to break, vilify, malign and defame him, and in addition the Congress celebration, he mentioned.
“The election defeat in 2014 and 2019, I don’t think the blame is his (Gandhi). The defeat certainly affected his public persona and the fact that he lost from Amethi as well. What this Yatra has done is that it has given an opportunity for Rahul Gandhi to have an unmediated connection with the people without the media. He does not have a spin machine around him, he is walking 22-23 km daily meeting thousands of people and interacting with a variety of organisations. There is no doubt that post-Bharat Jodo Yatra Rahul Gandhi would be seen dramatically differently both within the organisation and outside as well,” Ramesh mentioned.
“What I find interesting is that by and large nine of the 10 critics who vilified Gandhi have changed their view or have kept quiet.”
He dismissed options that the Congress was solely focussed on the Yatra and never on the upcoming meeting polls, saying the celebration organisation was in place and whereas Ashok Gehlot was main the cost in Gujarat, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was doing so in Himachal Pradesh.
If Rahul Gandhi known as upon to marketing campaign, he would take a few days off and go for the marketing campaign, he added.
Ramesh additionally rejected claims that the Congress is robust within the South and weak within the North.
The Congress after having gone via the Covid pandemic is now going via Yatra-itis’, he mentioned, citing the principle Yatra and sub-Yatras being held in numerous states.
Asked in regards to the impression the Yatra would have in the long term, Ramesh mentioned it is determined by the organisation and the kind of modifications AICC chief Kharge and his group are in a position to put in place.
“It is not a magic wand, as I said, It is a booster dose. We keep needing booster doses from time to time. This I think is the first real meaningful booster dose after a long time,” he mentioned.
On whether or not the celebration was on the trail to revival on the highway to 2024 normal elections, Ramesh mentioned he could be very circumspect as he believed within the Narayana Murthy mannequin of administration which is beneath promise and overachieve.
“I am not going to take a gigantic leap and say the Bharat Jodo Yatra is a metamorphosis for 2024, it is a long haul, we have very many deep challenges that we have to confront, it is an opportunity that has been opened,” he mentioned.
HYDERABAD: Rahul Gandhi doesn’t like backseat driving or asserting his authority and his best worth going ahead shall be to play the position of an ‘ideological compass’ for the Congress, senior chief Jairam Ramesh mentioned on Wednesday.
Per week after Mallikarjun Kharge, the primary non-Gandhi president in over 24 years, took cost of the celebration, Ramesh mentioned some individuals are calling Gandhi the elephant within the room however his response is that the previous celebration chief is definitely a ‘tiger on the highway’.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh advised PTI, has been a ‘actual booster dose’ for the general public relationship of the celebration and its “two Cs”- connectivity for Gandhi and collectivity for the organisation. The most tangible impression is on Congress organisation. Congress morale is now at terribly excessive ranges. Whether it will translate into long-lasting public help is now depending on the organisation,” the senior chief mentioned.
Ramesh, who can be strolling within the Yatra, cited thinker and thinker Albert Camus to explain Gandhi’s management type — “Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me.”
“Having known Mr. Gandhi for 18 years, and I know him fairly well, he does not like backseat driving, he does not like asserting his position or authority, he is a very democratic person,” Ramesh mentioned.
The journey undertaken by the celebration has had a transformative impression when it comes to perceptions of Gandhi that had been “distorted very heavily” by the “BJP troll machine”, he mentioned in an interview with PTI throughout the Yatra right here.
For him personally on the age of 68 in addition to for the celebration organisation, the Yatra is the “last throw of the dice” and a “huge gamble”, Ramesh mentioned.
Asked what position Gandhi would play with Kharge taking up the celebration’s reins, the Congress normal secretary in-charge communications mentioned it’s as much as Kharge and Gandhi to resolve that.
“Speaking as a Congressman, an office bearer, member of Parliament, I think Mr Rahul Gandhi’s greatest value will be to play the role of an ideological compass for the party,” he mentioned.
Every celebration wants an ideological compass or an ethical compass, and Rahul Gandhi is ideally fitted to that position, Ramesh argued.
“Now whether he plays that role or not is entirely between him and Mr Kharge. I can only speak for myself. I think his comparative advantage lies in playing the role of an ideological or moral compass, something like the role Mr PN Haksar (former principal secretary to PM) played vis-a-vis Mrs Indira Gandhi from 1967-73,” he mentioned.
“Of course Mr Haksar was a backroom man whereas Mr Gandhi is very much a front room person,” he added.
Discussing the Yatra, which began at Kanyakumari on September 7, Ramesh mentioned what it has performed very visibly is energise the Congress organisation, be it in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana.
“The Bharat Jodo Yatra, I would not say has opened a window of opportunity, it has opened a door of opportunity. The narrative around the Congress and Gandhi has been transformed, it is no longer a negative vilification narrative,” the senior Congress chief mentioned.
It is a story that acknowledges that that is fairly a novel try at mass contact, Ramesh mentioned.
Asked if Gandhi has been a revelation throughout the Yatra, Ramesh mentioned, “I would not say revelation, it is a revelation for the people who vilified him, who ran him down. It is the real person who is covering 22 km every day. So it is not a new Rahul, it is the real Rahul that has come out.”
There was a marketing campaign ever since 2009 — when the Congress got here again with a heightened majority — to break, vilify, malign and defame him, and in addition the Congress celebration, he mentioned.
“The election defeat in 2014 and 2019, I don’t think the blame is his (Gandhi). The defeat certainly affected his public persona and the fact that he lost from Amethi as well. What this Yatra has done is that it has given an opportunity for Rahul Gandhi to have an unmediated connection with the people without the media. He does not have a spin machine around him, he is walking 22-23 km daily meeting thousands of people and interacting with a variety of organisations. There is no doubt that post-Bharat Jodo Yatra Rahul Gandhi would be seen dramatically differently both within the organisation and outside as well,” Ramesh mentioned.
“What I find interesting is that by and large nine of the 10 critics who vilified Gandhi have changed their view or have kept quiet.”
He dismissed options that the Congress was solely focussed on the Yatra and never on the upcoming meeting polls, saying the celebration organisation was in place and whereas Ashok Gehlot was main the cost in Gujarat, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was doing so in Himachal Pradesh.
If Rahul Gandhi known as upon to marketing campaign, he would take a few days off and go for the marketing campaign, he added.
Ramesh additionally rejected claims that the Congress is robust within the South and weak within the North.
The Congress after having gone via the Covid pandemic is now going via Yatra-itis’, he mentioned, citing the principle Yatra and sub-Yatras being held in numerous states.
Asked in regards to the impression the Yatra would have in the long term, Ramesh mentioned it is determined by the organisation and the kind of modifications AICC chief Kharge and his group are in a position to put in place.
“It is not a magic wand, as I said, It is a booster dose. We keep needing booster doses from time to time. This I think is the first real meaningful booster dose after a long time,” he mentioned.
On whether or not the celebration was on the trail to revival on the highway to 2024 normal elections, Ramesh mentioned he could be very circumspect as he believed within the Narayana Murthy mannequin of administration which is beneath promise and overachieve.
“I am not going to take a gigantic leap and say the Bharat Jodo Yatra is a metamorphosis for 2024, it is a long haul, we have very many deep challenges that we have to confront, it is an opportunity that has been opened,” he mentioned.
