NEW DELHI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s insolent barrage against the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the note ban is meant to give the Congress party a fresh lease of life before the state polls, say sources.
He is banking on voter unrest to gain momentum to sway popular decision in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Rahul has appointed All India Congress Committee (AICC) anti-demonetisation observers in many states to gather information to be used as propaganda against the NDA. Sources said they have been appointed keeping in mind the geography and demography of each state.
Over a dozen such observers have been appointed in Rajasthan. Eighteen-odd Congress leaders will fan out across Maharashtra to prepare a white paper on the note ban effect and conduct press conferences to attack the loopholes in implementation. Rahul’s directives to the observers are two—combatively attack the demonetisation drive and raise allegations of corruption against the PM.
Sources said he is already receiving grassroots feedback. On December 26, a high-level meeting will be chaired by a senior Congress leader in Delhi to modulate future strategy. Balram Naik, former Union Minister and one of Rahul’s anti-demonetisation observers, hopes demonetisation will backfire for the NDA government in the state polls.
Rahul has appointed a team of eight leaders for PM Modi’s home state, Gujarat. The allocated observers will travel across the state to woo business and community leaders as well as tribals. Ranjib Biswal, a former cricket administrator and Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha, is part of the team that will brief Gandhi on ‘Notebandi’ in Gujarat.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has appointed observers to travel across poll-bound states to campaign against demonetisation.
Although the party is a diminished force in Maharashtra, former MP I G Sanadhi said, “We will keep the issue alive through campaigns and press conferences in the coming days.” Rahul is also targeting other BJP-ruled states such as Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh by appointing 11 and 15 anti-demonetisation observers respectively.
Ram Niwas Ghorella, former MLA and an observer for Madhya Pradesh, said they will raise the issue of farmers hit by demonetisation.
Rahul, with his baggage of belonging to a wealthy political dynasty, had recently told PM Modi, “Mock me all you want, but you answer the people”. Says a BJP leader, “His liberal use of rhetoric has lost shock value. His rehearsed lines on demonetisation are meant to project himself as the country’s next leader and harvest electoral gains. The problem is, no one takes him seriously even when he sounds combative.”