Ramachandra Guha humiliates Rahul Gandhi & 'pathetic family firm' Congress; warns Kerala

Historian Ramachandra Guha on Friday said that a "fifth-generation dynast" Rahul Gandhi has no chance in Indian politics against a "hard-working and self-made" Narendra Modi, and Kerala did a disastrous thing by electing the Congress leader to Parliament. Guha said the reduction of the Congress from a "great party" during the freedom movement to a "pathetic family firm" now is one of the reasons for the ascendency of Hindutva and jingoism in India.

'Young India does not want a fifth-generation dynast'

"I have nothing against Rahul Gandhi personally. He is a decent fellow, very well-mannered. But young India does not want a fifth-generation dynast. If you Malayalis make the mistake of re-electing Rahul Gandhi in 2024 too, you are merely handing over an advantage to Narendra Modi," said Guha on the second day of the ongoing Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) in Kozhikode during his talk, "Patriotism Vs Jingoism".

Addressing the crowd, he said, "Kerala, you have done many wonderful things for India, but one of the disastrous thing you did was to elect Rahul Gandhi to Parliament." Gandhi, who in 2019 general elections lost from his family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, had won from the Wayanad seat in Kerala.

Ramachandra Guha praises PM Narendra Modi

The 61-year-old author who has been a critic of the Central government compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. He said, "Narendra Modi's great advantage is that he is not Rahul Gandhi. He is self-made. He has run a state for 15 years, he has administrative experience, he is incredibly hard-working and he never takes holidays in Europe. Believe me, I am saying all this in all seriousness," he said.

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But, even if Rahul Gandhi was "much more intelligent, more hard-working, never took a holiday in Europe, as a fifth-generation dynast he still will be at a disadvantage against a self-made person", the 61-year-old author said. He took on Congress president Sonia Gandhi too who, he said, reminded him of the "late Mughal dynasty" and how aloof they were of the state of their kingdom. "India is becoming more democratic and less feudal, and the Gandhis just don't realise this. You (Sonia) are in Delhi, your kingdom is shrinking more and more but still, your chamchas (sycophants) are telling you that you are still the Badshah," he said.

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(with PTI inputs)