Why Nobody Gives a Damn Fuck About Rahul Gandhi’s “Mahobbat ki Dukan”?
Today in 2024, in India, almost 45% of people have no internet connection, which is 665 million people. 13% of Indian households still don’t have access to grid-connected electricity. More than 163 million people in India do not have access to clean water, the highest in the world. Every year almost 50,000 people die because of air pollution alone in my home state, Gujarat.
My point is in third world countries like ours, almost everybody has their own problems. In our country, 24x7 drinking water is counted as a privilege or a symbol of higher society. So, in a time where drinking water and clean air are not considered problems by some, nobody gives a damn about the idea of “Mahobbat ki Dukan.
I’ve been observing Rahul Gandhi’s politics since 2010–11. Around that time in Gujarat, people were talking about him as “Pappu,” growing up I read “Letters from a Father to His Daughter”, and I’m sure indira gandhi thought the same principles to Rajiv Gandhi and later Rahul Gandhi. It’s not possible this man is stupid. He has great academics also, but I believe he lacks one thing where Modi wins, and that is vision for the nation. I call Rahul a visionless prince.
On one side, Narendra Modi has a vision for this nation or for people who believe in that vision. You and I can disagree with Modi’s idea of India, but on the other side, there is nothing but complaints. We all know that the media is controlled, and government agencies are misused against opposition parties, but it’s nothing new in a democracy. Sure, the misuse is out of control, but general people don’t care that much about that because they have problems like what to make for dinner tonight. In a country where a bank charges you for not having money in your bank account, people are not going to spend much time on issues like democracy or free press. I’m not saying the idea of “Mahobbat ki Dukan” is wrong, but ideas can be good, but it doesn’t mean you apply them in real life. Timing matters.
I grew up in Viramgam, a small town in Gujarat. I witnessed the 2002 riots very closely. I was a kid back then, but I can understand what was happening. After Ahmedabad, my town had more casualties happen, but hate against Muslims didn’t start after 2002. It was there way before 2002, even before Modi and RSS. Remember when the country was busy celebrating freedom, one old guy was on a fast to stop Hindu-Muslim riots. Remember, we are 1.4 billion people, and if we started counting 60 individual Indians every minute, it would take more than 44.38 years (16,203.7 days) to count every single Indian. Yes, it’s a very big number, and social and religious changes are a very slow and time-taking process. My point is, “Mahobbat ki Dukan” sounds good in conversation or impresses people over a dinner party, but on a bigger scale, nobody gives a damn.
On one side, Rahul says his religious practice is his own personal thing, but he visits big and famous temples during elections. He and his party even complain that the media is not showing his temple visits like they did when Modi visited the temple. If this isn’t hypocrisy, then what is? And now, everyone who is against the idea of Modi or even some Congress-supporting reporters say Rahul is a good guy, he is good at heart. I mean, are we talking about a political leader or looking for a husband material guy? My point is, a political leader should have a vision for the country; just being nice is not enough.
During Bharat Jodo Yatra, one journalist asked Rahul a question. Rahul replied, “I don’t know what we’re gonna do after collecting the caste census data, but caste-wise counting will happen, that’s the promise.” Cast census is Rahul Gandhi’s the biggest promise, but he doesn’t know what he will do after that. I’m no expert, but this is not the way you share your vision, right? On the other side, Narendra Modi is promising a $5 trillion economy. Any human being with a basic understanding of the economy can tell that the size of a GDP has nothing to do with the country’s situation. For example, America’s GDP is around 27 trillion, the biggest in the world. The total population of America is around 333.33 million, and it might surprise you, but more than 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. A bigger GDP does not mean better for everyone, but still, Modi and his ministers talk about the $5 trillion economy, and people believe in it. Why? Because on the other side, there is only complaint.
Rahul and the entire opposition are complaining and saying everything is controlled by Modi. How can we communicate with people? I’ll give you an example. After Barack Obama completed his two terms, American people were angrier than ever, and Democrats were well aware of the situation. On the other side, Donald Trump was planning to run for president just for a joke. First, Democrats started making fun of Trump, but like it or not, Trump used that in his favor. Soon, his numbers started getting better. Every media outlet from The New York Times to The Washington Post, from Time Magazine to The Guardian and BBC, everybody started sharing negative stories against him. Not only big media houses were boycotting Trump, but also Hollywood too. But Donald Trump won the election. But how?
He didn’t just complain like Rahul Gandhi. In his public speeches, he complained about how China was taking America’s jobs, and then he promised to put tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump knew most Americans don’t like illegal immigrants, but most politicians avoid talking about this topic. So Trump started talking about that topic. He used some politically incorrect words against illegal migrants to attract more attention. He said he’s gonna build a wall to stop Mexican illegal migrants, and people celebrated that word. Trump also trolled his opponents on stage during debates to get more and more attention. Many experts said he’s stupid or he’s a joke, but Trump exactly knew what he was doing. And finally, he won the election against Hillary Clinton. Democrats thought a woman candidate for presidency would help them, and most of their political campaign was around that point, but they missed that America is the mother of a misogynistic society and America proved this by choosing Donald Trump as their President.
Well, I’m not saying Rahul Gandhi should follow Trump’s tactics. No! No one should follow Donald Trump for anything. My point is, it doesn’t matter if the media or the celebrities or every single agency is against you. If you know how to communicate your idea with people, they will listen. When I give you Trump’s example, it doesn’t mean I suggest Rahul Gandhi to create drama to get footage, but at least he should try something new, something bold. For example, during election time, stop going to the temple and visit the nuclear power plant and talk about your energy policy for the nation. I’m not kidding. Do you know anything about his vision? Tell me, what is his policy for healthcare? what is his policy for education? When did he talk about climate change and policy about the matter? Leave everything and tell me, what is his policy for unemployment and inflation? When did he talk about these most important points and share his ideas?
Instead of saying we have a huge unemployment problem in the country, he should come and say, “Modi Ji is promising a $5 trillion GDP. I promise you I’ll make BSNL, the Bharatiya Dur Sanchar Nigam Ltd., the first Indian $1 trillion company in just 10 years which will generate more than 5 lakh government jobs.” It’s an achievable goal, and policy-makers should not have any problem with this too. Instead of saying Dalits and OBCs have no representation, why doesn’t he tell how many new universities or IIMs or modern schools he will build and how many academic jobs he creates? But instead of problem-solving, he always comes with more and more complaints. Common people have rights to complain against the government, but the opposition leader’s job is to find out the solution and communicate that to gain vote share.
Rahul’s latest complaint is that INC has no money to start a campaign. You don’t need to spend a fortune to conduct a small town hall meeting, and we are living in the digital age. There are hundreds of social media influencers who have a soft spot for Rahul and are against the idea of Modi. If Rahul wants to communicate his vision for the nation, there is no problem. The problem is in Rahul Gandhi, the visionless prince.
