Why Rajan's defence of Rahul falls flat

Defending Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and admonishing him being branded as 'Pappu', the former RBI Governor termed it 'unfortunate' that a former Congress chief is being labelled derogatorily like this and described the leader as a 'smart man'.

New Delhi, Jan 20: Congress leader and Gandhi dynasty flag bearer Rahul Gandhi has got another advocate on his list of tail-wagers. This time it is none other than Raghuram Rajan, noted economist who was appointed Reserve Bank of India Governor during the previous Manmohan Singh regime. In his latest statement, Rajan not only claimed that Rahul Gandhi is not 'Pappu' but described him as a 'smart man'.

It is well-known that Rahul Gandhi got the moniker of 'Pappu' after several of his videos went viral where he could be seen talking gibberish and total nonsense. It's pertinent to mention here that it was none other than now-Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu who had first dubbed Gandhi as 'Pappu' when he was in BJP.

Rajan had recently joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra being led by Gandhi. However, he is not new to the Congress party as it was during the last Congress government he was appointed as the RBI Governor despite widespread criticism. Talking about Gandhi's capabilities, Rajan said that he is a 'smart man' who "clearly knows what his priorities are and what he is capable of."

Defending Gandhi and admonishing brand 'Pappu', Rajan said that it is indeed unfortunate that the former Congress chief is being labelled as 'Pappu'. When he was asked why he walked along with Gandhi and that too in a political event like 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', his reply was that he did so because "he stands for the values of the Yatra."

Is 'Pappu' just a name calling?

Rajan's defending Gandhi has not gone down well with the Twitter users who claim that it's not that the Congress leader is Pappu because detractors have branded him so. In fact, there are claims that 'Pappu is Pappu Does'. Hundreds of video clips have gone viral as soon as Rahul Gandhi gives funny statements which make no sense.

An article published in 'India Today' magazine well explains why and how Rahul Gandhi became 'Pappu' and how Congress party is partially responsible for this. It explains how during the ten-year-long Congress rule from 2004-14, Gandhi always behaved like a 'prince' and kept himself away from anything that could get media attention.

He was then, according to Digvijay Singh, confining himself to student politics and youth politics. Nobody knew what the ideas of Rahul Gandhi were. However, once he started talking and appearing in public, especially after Arnab Goswamy's famous interview, the brand 'Pappu' came up and stuck with him forever.

In fact, Gandhi has himself admitted several times that he is not so bothered about being branded as Pappu. Therefore, any claim from Raghuram Rajan that Rahul Gandhi is not 'Pappu' has to come from Rahul Gandhi himself and not just with words but through his 'thoughts and action' and clear understanding of the issues in hand, instead being parroted by his coterie.