Too early to hand over reins

Five years after he took over as the general secretary of Congress, Rahul Gandhi recently announced that he was willing to “play a more proactive role in the government or the party.”

And despite his efforts to reach out to the common man - given numerous (and duly publicised) visits to villages while trying to ‘rediscover’ India, Rahul Gandhi is yet to be taken seriously by opponents and detractors. Metrolife spoke to students pursuing higher studies and found that they do not lay much score by his efforts.
They point out that the youth, by and large, does not see him as a great leader nor as a PM in the making.

Ideally, the youngsters would prefer the scion to learn politics first and then dream about a bigger role. “He needs to introspect and express opinions regarding issues related to farmer suicides; privatisation; education system; inflation and corruption. He has rarely taken a stand on any of these issues. How can he even dream of a greater role?” asks D Lenin Kumar, currently pursuing PhD in International Studies from JNU. “You cannot win elections based on face value. Rahul needs to learn Political Science.”

Santvana Kumar, a law student from Delhi University feels that Rahul does not understand the grassroot problems and deals with them in an elitist manner. “He is an amateur and I would not like to see him as my leader. He is UPA’s last resort He is the one they are depending on and hence, he has been given more responsibilities, but he has no experience and is in politics for obvious reasons.”

Similarly, Rishika Jaiswal, a Political Science and Social Work student from DU seconds Santvana and says Rahul lacks enthusiasm and knowledge about politics. “He should gain more experience and then expect to take on a greater role in politics. He has yet to demonstrate how he will implement ideas on a practical platform. He does not understand basic needs of the people and that is why he lost so badly in the UP elections.”

The students aren’t the only ones, expressing their displeasure. Even activists and those into social work and dealing with larger issues at a ground level feel that, “Rahul is not promising. I have never seen him taking a stand in Parliament and so my expectations are nil from him,” says Hina Upadhyaya, a social worker.