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NEW DELHI: After a long silence during which many Congressmen could be heard asking about the whereabouts of both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, the Youth Congress came together to take on the BJP government in what is a first for the demoralised party since the general elections.
A rousing speech by party leader Digivijay Singh asking Rahul Gandhi to take charge and expose the “misdeeds” of the Modi government set the tone, with youth congress workers clashing with the police as they tried to break down the barricades at Jantar Mantar.
Singh said that one of the main reasons for the party’s debacle was its failure to highlight its achievements, indicating that the Congress would now be on the streets to highlight the failure of the Modi government to meet the targets it had set, and the promises it had made.
"I urge Rahulji to take control. We are all behind Rahulji. We will back him on all fronts, he should lead us," Singh said, addressing the protesters at Jantar Mantar.
"If so many young people are on WhatsApp, then why is Modi still prevailing? Where the Congress failed is in communicating its policies to the people. I urge you young people to get on WhatsApp and spread the world. Use technology to silence the BJP. These people keep lying and people believe them. Let's stop them," he added.
“The BJP government had made several promises. But nothing has come of them. The aim of our rally is to expose the BJP’s lies and show the people the reality of Narendra Modi’s performance in the first 100 days,” Rajeev Satav, IYC president, told reporters. This is the first direct confrontation by the Congress and senior party leaders insisted that this would now become the norm.
The demonstration was also seen as an effort by the Congress leadership to revive the Youth Congress that has not been visible as a front organisation for virtually ten years now. Rahul Gandhi was entrusted with its revival a few years ago, but little came of it except for a slight reshuffle of the organisation. The clash with the police left several Youth Congress members injured. Several thousand had gathered to protest against what they called “120 false promises of the Modi government.”
Many in the crowd expected Rahul Gandhi to join the demonstration but predictably he stayed away. Congress leaders who were highly critical of his performance before and during the elections are coming around to the view that they have no choice but to accept his leadership. However, Rahul Gandhi instead of leading the party out of the morass from the front has disappeared from view holding few meetings and travelling not at all within the country. The long awaited AICC session has still not been scheduled.
