Rahul Gandhi has been successful in keeping the nation’s focus on his “Bharat Jodo Yatra” by issuing bizarre statements against the RSS, the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This time, he has termed himself a tapasvi and described the BJP as pujari. The contest according to him is the one between tapasvi and pujari. In scriptures, a tapasvi performs tapasva to achieve certain goals which may or may not be for public goods. The demons have often undertaken tapasya to gain immense power so that they can become victorious and rule the world. The Gods oblige but the same Gods devise ways to destroy such tapasvis when these powers are misused to inflict pain and sufferings. Pujari, on the other hand, worships Gods and Goddesses for the qualities they represent. Every God and Goddess are embodiment of one or the other human virtues. For example, Goddesses Lakshmi is worshipped for wealth, Saraswati for learning and Durga for strength and power. A pujari looks for blessings of these Divine forms on a regular basis for survival of humanity. A pujari invariably believes in the theory of Karma. He wants to work hard and seeks divine blessings for giving him strengths to work hard. The boon earned by a tapasvi can be misused for attaining personal gains but the blessings of Gods and Goddesses are invoked for betterment of human kind. A true pujari is the guardian of the faith. Through tapasya, the performer seeks boons as a shortcut to achieve power and wealth. It dilutes the importance of karma. In the hands of saints, tapasya becomes a tool to benefit society but in the hands of demon it become tool that culminates in self-destruction. The powers that Ravan got through tapasya made him powerful but it also became the reason for his downfall and end. In the hands of Lord Ram, the same tapasya became a tool to destroy evil. Ram was an embodiment of purusharth. Rahul Gandhi has the tendency to undermine his own efforts by shooting off such controversial statements. After conclusion of his first leg of yatra, he had claimed that there was no problem in India and that everyone was living in peace and brotherhood. He said that the media was highlighting on minor incidents to create an impression of divide. He undermined the very purpose of the yatra which had initially theorised that there were divisions and conflicts in society and there was a need to unite people by spreading love. The discovery by the end of the yatra by Rahul Gandhi was quite contrary to this theory. By describing himself as a tapasvi, he has once again provided fodder to his critics. Now, one can understand that he is keeping long beards to acquire an outward appearance of a tapasvi. If you are not a tapasvi by internal calling, one can understand why one is trying to feign appearance. A tapasvi is often held in high esteem because the Indian society respects sacrifice and determination. But no tapasvi has ever claimed that he is a tapasvi. The moment you claim to be one you become a laughing stock. In trying to acquire Hindu symbols as the Bharat Jodo Yatra enters North India, Rahul Gandhi has demonstrated the desperation to gain wider acceptance. But the more he tries to criticise Modi, the more he ends up glorifying him. Humility is a virtue that does not come easily, more so if you belong to a powerful dynasty. People see this humility in Modi who is a person believing in hard work combined with compassion for the poor and the needy. These qualities are aspirational for any follower of Sanatan Dharm. He has never invoked God or special power to destroy the Congress or any leader. Whenever he has invoked God, he has sought strength to work more for the poor and serve his country better. He is deeply religious but his belief does not allow him to discriminate between citizens. In fact, Rahul’s anti-Modi tirade has prevented him from embracing positivism. The name of the yatra “Bharat Jodo” itself is negative. Jodo means Bharat is broken into parts. But this is not the truth. Diversity or differences have failed to create divide. The feeling of nationality and motherland binds one and all. The yatra, therefore, has lost its focus. The only issue and theme that is consistent is criticise Modi, RSS and the BJP. Rahul should have learnt a few things from the BJP, a party that can be called yatra expert. There is no doubt that the party has expanded base due to the various yatras undertaken by its leaders. But every such yatra had a focussed approach. For example, 1991 Ekta Yatra, that was charioted by Narendra Modi and led by then party president Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, was undertaken to highlight terrorism in the Kashmir valley and intended to hoist the national flag at the historic Lal Chowk in Srinagar. The Ram Rath Yatra of 1990 was undertaken by then BJP president Lal Krishna Advani to highlight the cultural heritage represented by Lord Ram and support the cause of building a grand Ram temple at the site of the Ramjanmbhoomi temple in Ayodhya. This was a very focussed yatra to raise consciousness about the place Lord Ram has in Indian society. Swaraj to Suraj Swarna Jayanti Rath yatra by Advani in 1997 had focussed on the need for good governance and promised that the BJP would provide good governance if voted to power. Leaders need to give clear message to people so that people can judge who stands for what. The yatra needs to be focussed on one theme and that should be the narrative of the person undertaking the yatra. Rahul Gandhi by that standard is confused and constantly changing goalposts based on his convenience. The only thing that binds yatra supporters is their opposition to the BJP and Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi should have better named the yatra as “Oppose Modi Yatra”. He tries to become larger than life at times and project himself as the messenger of peace and love. But the real focus is attack Modi and emerge as the only credible party that is consistent in opposing the BJP and the RSS. This is here that he is playing realpolitik which is to gain Muslim consolidation behind the Congress. If he is able to achieve that he would be able to strike a better bargain with the on-BJP parties in various states. And this means establishing Rahul Gandhi as unquestionable leader of the forces oppose to the BJP. Other parties have seen through his gameplan. This explains why Nitish Kumar, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati have stayed away from the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra. They would not concede leadership so easily. From the political spectrum, only those leaders have joined the yatra who are already in the Congress alliance network.
