Rahul Gandhi's new sob story about his mother

In his election campaign in Madhya Pradesh which is going to the polls in November, 2013, Rahul Gandhi, the heir-apparent of the ruling dynasty, though a reluctant prime ministerial candidate against the BJP nominee Narendra Modi, narrated a sob story of his mother Sonia Gandhi. Despite her ill-health and deteriorating condition, Mrs Gandhi was adamant on staying in the Lok Sabha to participate in voting for her pet food security bill for which she had "fought". Rahul stated that she had difficulty in breathing and had tears in her eyes. He finally "dragged" his mother to the hospital.

Rahul's purpose in telling the story to poor MP tribals was to impress on them his mother Sonia Gandhi's "commitment" to provide "one rupee kg foodgrain" to the poor so that "no one goes hungry" after the bill is implemented. He did not explain that if his mother was so concerned about the hunger of impoverished Indians, why did she wait so long-nearly ten years of her govt's rule since 2004-and choose a few months before the State elections in Madhya Pradesh and elsewhere in November-December, 2013, and general elections in May, 2014, for the passage of the Food Security Bill? Why shed tears now when her coalition govt had numbers to pass the legislation without her vote? Why then this emotional drama?

This reminded us of Rahul Gandhi's younger, Pappu days when he was fond of recalling what he had heard from his parents about the greatness of Nehru-Gandhis. In one such narration, he recalled that had a Nehru-Gandhi been at the helm of affairs in December 1992, the "Babri masjid" would not have been demolished. He clearly did not know or deliberately overlooked the fact that it was during his father Rajiv Gandhi's regime, the shilanyas(stone-laying ceremony) took place in Ayodhya and the doors of the Ram temple were opened. With this Pappu mindset, it did not occur to Rahul that despite his grand mother Indira Gandhi's slogan of "garibi hatao"(remove poverty), during her Emergency rule, poverty is very much with us nearly four decades after the socalled sloganeering. Even if Sonia Gandhi's food security measure is implemented, and wheat is given at Rs 1 a kg, how will it help the poor when other necessities like oil, vegetables, milk, etc., needed for minimum nourishment, are beyond their reach because of the sky-rocketing prices? Will only cheap wheat and rice will satisfy their hunger and lessen their mal-nourishment? Without a job or skill, will the poor not remain beggars, perpetually dependent and at mercy of a corrupt babu and a middleman? By spending tens of thousands of crores of public money what Sonia Gandhi will achieve besides a temporary vote? What is the past experience of such ill-conceived, extravagant schemes like PDS, NAREGA, etc? Will the poor Indians be really impressed with Rahul Gandhi's juvenile sob stories of her mother shedding tears for their welfare when they hear that she flies to New York just for a health check-up?