Rahul Gandhi has done a Kejriwal. After months of mirroring Pakistan’s lines and casting doubts on the government over issues of national security, Rahul Gandhi has suddenly started singing a different tune.
Rahul has tweeted today saying that though he disagrees with the government over many issues, he wants to make it clear that ‘Kashmir is an integral part of India’. He also asserted that there is no room for Pakistan or any other country to interfere in it. Rahul’s statement was significantly different from what his party’s Lok Sabha chief had stated in the parliament.
I disagree with this Govt. on many issues. But, let me make this absolutely clear: Kashmir is India’s internal issue & there is no room for Pakistan or any other foreign country to interfere in it.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 28, 2019
Rahul then stated that there is violence in Jammu and Kashmir and it is because Pakistan instigates and supports it. He added that Pakistan is the prime supporter of terrorism in the world.
There is violence in Jammu & Kashmir. There is violence because it is instigated and supported by Pakistan which is known to be the prime supporter of terrorism across the world.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 28, 2019
As soon as Rahul had shared the tweet, Shashi Tharoor jumped in with his support. Calling Rahul Gandhi as ‘chief’, Tharoor stated that Congress has been insisting on it all along.
Tharoor, however, made it clear why Rahul Gandhi suddenly sounds patriotic and is vocally opposing Pakistan. Tharoor added in his tweet, “we opposed the manner in which Article 370 was abrogated because of the way it was done assaulted our Constitution& democratic values. No reason for Pak to draw any comfort from our stand”.
Spot on, Chief! This is what @INCIndia has insisted all along: J&K is an integral part of India; we opposed the manner in which Art.370 was abrogated because the way it was done assaulted our Constitution& democratic values. No reason for Pak to draw any comfort from our stand https://t.co/iI8HZ6sopU
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 28, 2019
Actually, Pakistan has been ‘drawing a lot of comforts’ from the stand taken by Rahul Gandhi and his political cronies. Even during the Pulwama attacks and India’s retaliatory Balakot airstrikes after that, Pakistan has used Congress and other opposition leaders’ statements to peddle its nefarious agenda.
After Indidecisionison to strip Article 370 and bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate UTs, Pakistan had repeatedly used the statements of Congress leaders to further its argument.
Pakistani analysts and strategists in their media debates had even named the Congress as a ‘sympathiser’ of Pakistan. Recently, Imran Khan had even copied Rahul Gandhi’s favourite lines against RSS and the BJP and had stated that the RSS and PM Modi are planning a Nazi-like imposition of Hindutva ideology in India.
It is notable here that barely 3 weeks ago, the Congress Working Committee had passed a resolution against the central government’s decision to strip article 370 and bifurcate the state. The CWC, chaired by Rahul Gandhi, had called the government’s decision unconstitutional and undemocratic.
In recent days it has even become difficult to distinguish whether it was a Congress statement or a Pakistani statement if the source was not clearly mentioned. To take the similarity with Congress to another level, a Pakistani minister had also questioned the Modi government over Rafale jets.
Yesterday, Pakistan had again written to the United Nations against India and had used statements by Rahul Gandhi and other leftist leaders to further its narrative. Tharoor’s assertion that there is no reason for Pakistan to ‘draw comfort’ from Congress’ stand sounds like clarification in that context.
Many Congress leaders had defied the party stand and had supported the government over its decision on Jammu and Kashmir. Congress has been on a downward spiral and after the open defiance of many senior leaders on the issue of article 370 abrogation, the party’s leadership woes and internal disputes were out in the open for everyone to see.
The exact reasons behind Rahul’s sudden tune change are not clear yet. They might never be, but a desperate wish to save his own party from losing all respect in the eyes of the Indian voter may have been a significant motivator behind it.
