Rahul Gandhi’s lethargy to cost Congress dearly

There is no dearth of troubles for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. After becoming a butt of jokes last week on social media, while he was caught napping inside the Lok Sabha, and faced internal criticism for lacking leadership quality the Gandhi scion has now been accused of destroying the grand old party.

Growing clamour against Rahul Gandhi:

The Amethi MP faced recent criticism from his party's former MP Gufran Azam, who even blamed Rahul for considering Youth Congress as his laboratory and ruined it with his failed experiments.

Speaking to ANI, Azam said, "Rahul thought Youth Congress is a lab and did experiments and destroyed it. He did the same with the Congress."

Yet another Congress leader questions Rahul’s leadership credentials

Questioning Rahul's leadership credentials, the former MP said, "Hum toh thak gaye sun sun ke, koi use pappu bolta hai, koi munna bolta hai, sharam aati hai. (We are tired of hearing people addressing Rahul Gandhi as 'Pappu' and 'Munna' and feel ashamed)."

Miffed with the sycophancy ruling the roost in the party, Azam said he wrote several time to the party chief Sonia Gandhi since 2005, but to no avail.

There was a long list of disenchanted Congressmen who held the party vice-president responsible for its worst ever rout in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll. Many blamed Rahul's lackadaisical approach and appeasement of loyalists for the Congress's decimation in the Lok Sabha polls.

Former defence minister AK Antony and general secretary Digvijay Singh also questioned his credentials but soon retracted from their statements saying they were misquoted.

Then there are leaders who are still loyal to the Gandhi family and are not uttering even a single word against Rahul. They are instead blaming select few party insiders for tarnishing party's vice-president's image. Former union steel minister and loudmouth Congress leader Beni Prasad Verma however has claimed that there is caucus in the Congress that wants to oust the Gandhi family, particularly Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul was handed the Congress's baton to lead the party in the Lok Sabha polls but failed to pick the mood of the voters and as they say the rest is history. On the contrary, riding over anti-Congress sentiments and huge mass appeal BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi scripted history by garnering a clear majority.

Congress vice-president still clueless to his future course of action:

But what surprises one is that there is not an element of change in approach of the Congress vice-president whom a party cadre wants to be replaced with his sister Priyanka Vadra. At a time when Congressmen are going berserk on the streets for any and everything that the Narendra Modi Government to gain political mileage. The Congress's face is caught sitting at the back benches or dozing, while the House was debates serious issues like price-hike.

Rahul hardly participated in discussions during 15th Lok Sabha and looks to be doing the same in the ongoing 16th Lok Sabha as well. It is high time the Gandhi scion wakes up from deep slumber if he wishes to better turn tides into Congress's favour in the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana, where the party is facing popular anti-incumbency.