(Rana Ayyub is an award-winning investigative journalist and political writer. She is working on a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi which will be published in 2015.)
"Desh ke hain, aapke nahi hain kya? Woh, aapke PM nahi hai kya?" (Is he not your PM) asked Rahul Gandhi in a rare direct sarcastic jibe to BJP leaders when they asked him to refrain from calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'their' PM.
The Gandhi scion was speaking in parliament on the first day of the reconvened Budget session in which the government seeks to introduce the controversial Land Acquisition Ordinance.
Rahul, who has returned to politics and the public sphere after a two-month sabbatical which saw him skipping the first half of the budget session, seemed to have finally sprung into action with impromptu humour. That was not without visible and frequent help from friend and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was seated next to him, and appeared to supply crisp adjectives.
Social media enthusiasts and observers snatched the speech to either attack or promote. One tweet cheekily observed, 'Vipassna rocks'. The reference here was to the speculation that Rahul had spent a better part of his vacation in one of the East Asian countries for a meditation course. There was the expected fierce criticism -
#RahulRoar and
#PappuMeows were equal and opposite hashtags.
Rahul's speech in Parliament followed the Congress rally in Delhi on Sunday against the government's planned land reforms. At the event, both the Gandhis and their speeches evoked a mixed response. While Rahul, who has been referred to by BJP spokespersons as an "item number" from the Congress party came across as uninspiring, while mother Sonia got decent reviews.
So it was the power-packed performance in Parliament today that has led to the suggestion that it is too early to write off the 'Yuvraj'.
From taking a dig at BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, who he called 'a man who spoke his heart and the truth', quoting the Nagpur leader's speech in which he inadvertently suggested the government's helplessness in helping farmers, to mocking Modi's suit that hogged headlines during President Obama's visit, here was an astute and shrewd Indian politician who finally spoke the language that the common Indian can understand.
"aapne auction kar diya, humne bolna band kar diya" (to end the controversy over the suit, it was auctioned), Rahul said with heaps of sarcasm.
With the trademark 'bhaiyya' which he used to address the audience in his speech (a very North Indian term of reference), the punchline of Rahul Gandhi's speech was the
"suit-boot ki sarkaar" quip.
Another sharp attack lay in
"udyogpatiyon ki sarkaar" which many in the Congress party suggested was a reference to Modi's friendship with 'A' league business houses (reference to Adanis and Ambanis).
What caught my eye most importantly was the placement of MPs around Rahul Gandhi that included Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gaurav Gogoi and other youth leaders - this comes after Digvijaya Singh's comment that senior leaders like him ought to take a backseat.
Digvijaya, who is a self-confessed Rahul Gandhi mentor, has suggested on various occasions that Rahul take over the reins of the party as opposed to the advisors in the Congress who take the most important calls. Keep in mind that reportedly, the primary reason for Rahul's sabbatical was his protest against what he called the interference and hegemony of veteran party leaders who refused to let reforms take their course in the party.
Another aspect worth noticing was the presence of MPCC chief Ashok Chavan who had to resign as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra over his alleged involvement in the Adarsh scam.
However, Chavan was re-inducted as the face of the party in Maharashtra this March - he is the only top leader from the state who managed to retain his seat in parliament. It is common knowledge that Rahul was not very keen to have Chavan back as the state chief.
As a political journalist, I looked for Chavan's less-than-animated response to Rahul's speech, while his relatively 'younger' colleagues like Gaurav backed their leader with witty repartees, bringing some much-needed spunk to an opposition that has lacked punch so far.
So should we laud Rahul Gandhi for the comeback and for asking the Prime Minister uncomfortable questions in the parliament over his alleged political miscalculations? Was an impassioned Jyotiraditya speech (laced with Sanksrit verses) asking for an apology from Giriraj Singh the perfect accompaniment to Rahul's new vigor? Are the young turks in the opposition finally showing some flavour of an active opposition? In an agrarian country where beef ban has proved to be a more significant achievement over farmer suicides in the last one year, one wished this was indeed the case.
When Venkaiah Naidu got up to clarify a point mentioned by Rahul Gandhi, he asked Bihar MP Pappu Yadav to keep calm. I, like many parliamentarians, for a split second took that as a jibe against Rahul Gandhi who is trolled as "Pappu" by the BJP social media brigade.
The moment didn't scale up, the reason being a rather sprightly approach to the discussion where it seemed that for once, the Congress was enjoying its job, that of being a responsible opposition. Rahul did not appear to be in the mode of crown prince of the Congress, and wore a gracious smile when one of the leaders congratulated him for his return from a two-month vacation on a foreign land.
Compliments aside, as I write this, my cynicism takes over, for we have been subject to many such one-time hits in the past, which were followed by a rather abysmal and uninspiring performance by Rahul who was either caught napping by the cameras in parliament or had the country looking for him.
Should Rahul Gandhi want to lead the party and send out a message to his detractors, he needs to sustain this performance in parliament and outside. He needs to know that a little bit of humility can go a long way in healing a disastrous performance by him and his party. He needs to understand we live in a politically-aware country where the performance of the opposition is looked at with as much expectation and attention as that of the government.
When Rahul Gandhi returns to his residence tonight, he should watch his speech and the reactions to it, and judge his performance with clinical precision and understand that in politics there is always scope for improvement - and that actions - especially being present and participating in parliament - speak far louder than words.
Rahul Gandhi should be thankful that India is an agrarian country where farmers of the land have overturned kingdoms and governments. It's time Rahul makes a comeback as a full-time politician and keeps the ruling government on its toes for the idea of a country that he repeats in his speeches so often. It's time Rahul leads from the front than going back in a shell of self-introspection.
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