There have been several occasions when Rahul had scored self-goals while trying to attack his political opponents, and Friday’s no-confidence debate was another such instance of Rahul making a mockery of himself in Parliament
“Jab pradhan mantri bar nahi jaate hai” said Congress president Rahul Gandhi during the no-confidence motion debate in Parliament on Friday. He later corrected himself to say “Bahar nahi jate hai, pradhan mantri bandh kamre mein businessmen se baat karte hai”.
Rahul continued with his faux pas and claimed that Modi can’t look into his eyes.
“People think I have hatred for the PM but I am thankful to PM, BJP and RSS to have made me appreciate the meaning of Congress, being an Indian, my religion and Lord Shiva,” continued Rahul.
However, the icing on the cake was when after his speech, Rahul told Modi, “Aap ke liye main Pappu hoon,” and moved across the floor of the House and hugged the prime minister.
Modi kept on smiling as Rahul Gandhi attacked him in Parliament.
“We cannot thank you enough for the entertainment!” said the BJP said on Twitter.
There have been several occasions when Rahul had scored self-goals while trying to attack his political opponents, and Friday’s no-confidence debate was another such instance of Rahul making a mockery of himself in Parliament.
His conduct attracted derision, ridicule and downright anger for the way he was perceived to have trivialised the debate.
Here are some of the instances when Rahul’s attack on the prime minister boomeranged
In February 2016, Rahul, while reading from his speech in Parliament, referred to P Venugopal, who was chairing the session, as “speaker madam”. Someone mocked him from the Treasury Bench and said, “Padh raha hai.” He quickly rectified himself with folded hands and said, “Sorry, sorry, sorry, chairman sir!”
Rahul said, “Pradhan mantri yaha khade ho kar kehte hai NAREGA jaisi kharab yojana maine kabhi nahi dekhi.” He immediately corrected himself and sheepishly said, “MNREGA”. He had been referring to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as “NAREGA”, much to the amusement of the members, who made fun of him by repeatedly saying “Bhool gaya.”
He also went on to add, “Main RSS ka nahi hoon, main galtiya karta hoon”.
After his speech, Rahul started to leave as Prahlad Joshi rose up to respond. When mocked by the BJP legislators, who said that the then Congress vice-president was running away, Rahul said, "Bathroom jaa raha hoon bhai. Bathroom bhi nahi jaane doge?” and like a child, held out his little finger.
In April 2018, Rahul, while challenging Modi for a 15-minute one-on-one debate in the Parliament, said, "PM Modi can't face me in the Parliament."
In May 2018, Rahul attacked Modi, accusing him of being in an "amazing hurry" to "grab" land from poor farmers. He tweeted, "Modi ji in an amazing hurry to grab land from poor farmers at any cost. A 3rd attempt at pushing the anti-farmer Land Ordinance! Congress Party will continue to fight for the rights of the kisan and mazdoor against this #suitbootkisarkar (sic).”
In June 2018, Rahul tried to take a dig at the Modi government’s projects. He said, “Modiji says that the country is short of skills. This is not true. The truth is that your talent is not being brought to light.”
In December 2014, Rahul said, “We had issues with Vajpayee government. We did not believe in its ideology. But he used to listen to his colleagues. Now no one can open their mouth even inside the party fora. They tell us to be silent in Parliament."
Again in December 2014, while addressing a rally in Jharkhand, Rahul said, "It has been seven or eight months since the formation of the (NDA) government. When will the good days come?” He alleged: “Good days have come only for four or five businessmen, who are Modi's friends.”
There have also been times when he has found himself in a corner even when not speaking against the BJP.
On one occasion, Rahul said that poverty was “just a state of mind”. He added, “It does not mean the scarcity of food, money or material things. If one possesses self-confidence, then one can overcome poverty.”
Recently at an OBC convention in New Delhi, Rahul said, "Coca-Cola company ko shuru karne wala ek shikanji bechne wala vyakti tha America mein Shikanji bechta tha Pani mein chini mila ke shikanji bechta tha."
He had a view on how the popular multi-national fast food chain McDonald’s was started too. "McDonald company kisne chalu kiya tha kya karta tha who pahle koi mujhe bata sakta hai. Dhaba chalata tha America mein dhaba chalata tha," he said.
In an Ahmedabad Congress meet, he said, "Gujarat is bigger than the United Kingdom."
People would also not forget his "Politics is in your shirt, in your pant”, "This morning, I woke up at night" and ‘aloo to sona’ comments.
While talking to people in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul said: "You all are demanding a potato factory in your area, but you should understand I am an opposition leader. I can put pressure on the government, but cannot take the decision. I cannot open a potato factory for farmers."
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