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| Has Congress abandoned Rahul Gandhi? | | Birthday Ignored | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, June 20: Have the Congress leaders and cadres abandoned AICC general Secretary and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul Gandhi? The answer appears in the affirmative when viewed in the light of the fact that there was hardly any Congress worker at 24 Akbar Road, New Delhi, on June 19 to celebrate 42nd birthday of Rahul Gandhi. 24 Akbar Road is the party office where people from across the country gather in thousands to register their presence on such "rare occasions" as birthday of Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi. They assemble even if Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi is out of India. Rahul Gandhi normally celebrates his birthday outside India. He was also out of India on his 42nd birthday. It appears gone are the days when the Sonia and Rahul fans and Congress workers from across the country would ignore their appeals to not celebrate their birthday with pomp and show, and instead assemble at 24 Akbar Road to congratulate the custodians of the Congress party, pray for their long life and wish them all the best.
Significantly, this time the scene at 24 Akbar Road was not one of jubilation. In fact, the Congress office
bore a deserted look. There was none to raise such slogans as "jio hazaron saal". Nor was there any poster carrying such blessing. And nor were there many people to congratulate the bigwigs in the party on the birthday of Rahul Gandhi. It was a poor show or it was not a show at all. Yesterday, it was the controversial AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, who has been barred by the high command to speak on behalf of the party, and a handful of Congress workers who celebrated Rahul's birthday and discharged their obligation towards Rahul Gandhi. They also cut and eat cake and that's all.
If one looks back one would find thousands of Congress workers and admirers of Rahul Gandhi had assembled in and outside 24 Akbar Road in 2009, 2010 and 2011 to celebrate his birthday with great pomp and show. In 2009, when he turned 39, the weight of the cake was 40 KGs. Besides, the Congress workers organized Rahul's rallies and exhibitions throughout the year and prayed for his early marriage. In 2009, the Congress had won 22 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and everyone in the Congress, including ministers, gave full credit to Rahul Gandhi for that commendable victory. In 2011, his birthday was observed as "Kissan Adhikar Diwas".
Why the poor show this time? Why this dramatic change in the attitude of the Congress workers? Is it because he lost miserably in the just-held assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Punjab? Is it because the Congress is on a losing spree across the country? The demoralized Rahul Gandhi has gone totally dormant after the assembly elections in these states. Or, is it because the people do not now consider Rahul Gandhi a vote-catcher? |
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