The Reality Behind Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Staged’ Visit to Rajkot and Una

The Congress ought to have paid more attention to the finer details in Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Una and Rajkot.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. (Photo: PTI)

Rahul Gandhi may have episodes after episodes of blunders, but the Congress party isn’t making it any better for him.

Let’s take Rahul’s visit to Una to exchange hugs and solidarity with the Dalit community, for instance.

After the episode of Rahul catching a nap during debates against the violent treatment of Dalits in the Parliament, the Congress should have paid more attention to the finer details beyond the camera.

Rahul Gandhi meeting Ramaben (left photograph) and Dalit victims (right photograph) in Una, Gujarat. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@ANI)

Rahul first visited Mota Samadhiyala village in Una, to meet the family members of the Dalit victims. The next stop was at Rajkot Civil hospital, to meet three youths who were beaten up by a gang of ‘cow protectors’. Everything went as scripted and the son with the power of his political DNA was perfectly appearing to save the day.

He faced the camera and claimed:

I met the mother of the victim. She said that she sees no way forward — we are trampled in Modiji’s Gujarat everyday.

However, the so-called mother of one of the victims – Ramaben – was not only not related to the youths in anyway but she also seems to have faced cases of bootlegging, extortion and attempt to murder, Firstpost reported.

When Ramaben was questioned about this staged appearance, FirstPost quoted her as saying:

I never said that I am his (victim’s) real mother but being from the Dalit community I am like his mother... I don’t understand politics. These TV-wallahs are unnecessarily harassing me.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi Napping in Parliament Awakens Twitter Trolls

Moreover, State Congress General Secretary, Hemang Vasavada admitted to local party leaders of “planting” Ramaben to make it look more appealing, according to FirstPost.

But as if this oversight wasn’t enough, more reports of Rahul Gandhi’s “play-act” visit have poured in.

According to a report in The Indian Express, hours before Rahul landed in Rajkot, Ramesh Sarvaiya – one of the victims of of public flogging, who had been discharged from Junagadh civil hospital on 18 July, was forcefully re-admitted to the hospital, so that Gandhi could met him in a hospital setting.

The Indian Express quoted doctors at the Rajkot and Una hospitals as saying:

The four patients from Una are completely normal. They are fit to be discharged any time. Other 11 who have attempted suicide by consuming poison are also fine and can be allowed to go home. But there is a lot of political pressure on us to let them stay in the hospital. The leaders of various political parties are coming to us and telling us that they are very serious and that they should continue to get medical treatment

The efforts to unnecessarily embellish the incident of casteist violence distracts from its gravity, not to mention blunting of the political advantage it has given the Congress.

(Source: FirstPost)

Also Read: Una: Rahul Sips Tea With Dalit Victims’ Kin, Offers Financial Help