Telangana: KCR is 'mini Modi', says Rahul hoping to reignite Congress wave

Hyderabad: Euphoric crowds and enthusiastic participants jostled to shake hands with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in the non-descript villages along a 15 km distance in Adilabad district of Telangana on Friday. The idea of the padayatra is to console the families of farmers who committed suicide and also bolster the sagging morale of distressed agriculturists in the newly-formed state. However, the kisan sandesh yatra, which commenced a little behind and ended an hour ahead of schedule between Koratikal near Nirmal and Vadial, left the Congress leaders high and dry. [caption id=“attachment_2247108” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is presented a plough by party leaders at a public meeting during his 15 km-padyatra on farmers issue at Nirmal in Adilabad district of Telangana. PTI[/caption] Now, whether the jubilation on the Congress leaders’ faces is realistic or plastic is yet to be ascertained, as it looks to be an internal affair of the Congress, considering the party workers amplifying the support. Adilabad district, chosen by the Congress for Rahul Gandhi to infuse a new lease of life into the party, is too small a place to generate any political impact. Because, the possibility of a massive crowd turn out is also not expected in the places identified by the party. Moreover, the party doesn’t have any legislator elected from there. This is the first-ever visit of the Congress vice president after the formation of the separate state of Telangana, for which almost all Congress leaders take credit, and the party was routed at the hustings in 2014. Striking a sentimental chord with the farming community, Rahul said at a public meeting in Vadial, a tiny village where his padayatra concluded, that he embarked on the trek in the hot summer just for one day, while farmers sweated it out in the scorching sun throughout their lives. Rahul called on the family of a farmer Velma Rajeswar, who committed suicide and handed over a cheque for Rs 2 lakh to his wife Gangavva. He also met a couple of other families. Later he was accorded a “rousing reception” with hundreds of Congress workers greeting him with party flags and attempting to match their step with him in his sprint-like walk. The Congress vice president went on greeting people with his trademark smile and occasionally shook hands with people en route. Former Telangana PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah literally ran after Rahul Gandhi to match his pace. At the public meeting organised at Vadial, Rahul launched a blistering attack on the BJP government at the Centre in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular. Harking back on the Land Acquisition Bill proposed by the Congress, Rahul tried to make a case out in favour of the Congress on how the Bill’s original form was skewed and distorted by the BJP making it detrimental to the farmers. Rahul’s pro-farmer posturing that began with his diatribe against the Modi regime on the floor of Lok Sabha and the public rally on Ramlila Grounds in the national capital seems to be evolving into an effort to muster support at the field level. He tried to impress the farmers by recalling how the UPA waived farm loans worth Rs 70,000 crore and enhanced agricultural credit by 700 percent. Rahul Gandhi also attacked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao aka KCR, describing him as “mini-Modi”. Neither Prime Minister Modi nor Chief Minister KCR was bothered about the farmers, leave alone consoling them in the hour of their distress, said the Congress vice president. He said the two leaders were demonstrating favouritism only to those few who are “near and dear” to them. Whether Rahul Gandhi created an impact among the people remains the moot question, as it is too early to judge whether the people would rally behind the Congress, even as the Land Acquisition Bill is yet to become an Act. Aside from this, will the Congress be able to rejuvenate itself in states like Telangana, which is still revelling in the afterglow of the successful carving out of a separate state after a protracted agitation for 13 years, too remains a million dollar question. The Congress could not convince the people of Telangana that it was singularly responsible for the formation of the separate State, and remained a mute spectator when the people largely ascribed the achievement to the effort of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). While the translation of his Hindi speech by TPCC president N Utham Kumar Reddy into Telugu turned out to be a speed-breaker for his flow, it also seemed a bit odd as most people in Telangana region easily understand Hindi. For once, K Jana Reddy, the leader of the Opposition in Telangana State Legislative Assembly, made an impressive speech listing out the Congress achievements. Incidentally, a quirky observation by some social media enthusiasts of the YSR Congress generated interest on Facebook. “When YS Jagan wanted to call on the families of those who died of shock following the death of his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy by embarking on a “odarpu yatra”, the Congress president Sonia Gandhi dissuaded him and advised him to call all those bereaved families to one place and offer them financial aid and console them. Why has Rahul Gandhi chosen to replay the same Odarpu Yatra? Why could he not call all the bereaved families to one place and distributed aid?” Congress managers in Telangana apparently missed out on this small logic.