Is Rahul Gandhi Hitting The Right Note In His Europe Tour?

The Congress President, who is on a 4-day visit to Germany & the UK, hit out at the Modi govt on a range of issues.

Rahul Gandhi at London School of Economics. 

(Photo:Twitter/@INCIndia)

It was meant to be a speech on India’s economy and foreign policy, but Rahul Gandhi converted it into an electoral pitch for the second consecutive day.

A day after he lashed out at the BJP in Germany for “excluding large sections of the population”, Gandhi did an encore on 24 August at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London. Only this time the target was the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

The Congress President, who is on a four-day visit to Germany and the UK, hit out at the government on a range of issues—from demonetisation to the border dispute with China at Doklam. The topic of conversation, however, was titled “India’s economic growth and foreign policy in an uncertain world”.

Gandhi also trained his guns on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – considered the ideological parent of the BJP – by likening it to the “Muslim brotherhood of the Arab world”.

“RSS is trying to change the nature of India,” he said. “Other parties haven’t tried to capture India’s institutions (as the RSS has).”

Political journalist Krishna Prasad said that events like these helps overturn the perception that Gandhi is a “bumbling buffoon”, giving him the image of a leader who can field questions on a range of issues.

The fact is he can sit in front of huge audiences, speak impromptu and deliver clean and cogent sentences on a variety of issues.

Krishna Prasad, Political Journalist

But Walter Ladwig, senior lecturer at Kings College, London, disagreed. Ladwig, who had attended the interaction and quizzed Gandhi on the paucity of diplomats in India, said “If he does have a clear alternative, I’m afraid it didn’t come across.”

“He was asked specific questions on India’s economic and foreign policy,” said Ladwig. “I found the answers underwhelming.”

Quite frankly, the answers were often underwhelming and people didn’t get the level of detail they were looking for.

Walter Ladwig, Senior Lecturer In International Relations, Kings College, London.

While Gandhi offered broad strokes to questions on India’s ties with Pakistan and Russia, he spared no opportunity to score political points, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented demonetisation – in which over 85 percent of India’s currency comprising Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was outlawed – without the knowledge of the Finance Ministry.

R Jagannathan, editorial director at Swarajya Magazine, correlated his comments with the BJP’s perception of Gandhi. “Gandhi has probably been successful in getting under the skin of the BJP and the Prime Minister’s office.”

Rahul Gandhi is getting the audience and attention required, whether that will work with the electorate is a separate issue.

R Jagannathan, Editorial Director, Swarajya

The attention, though, hasn’t always been positive. While some of Gandhi’s comments have made waves back home, some posts on social media – especially those made by the Congress party itself – haven’t generated the intended response.

(This story was first published on BloombergQuint and has been republished in an arrangement.)