Read the
passage carefully and solve the questions that follow. (Exercise Solving time:
4 minutes)
In the eight years since he was elected
to Parliament from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi has shown a lot of political promise
but little else. As a leader of the new generation in the Nehru-Gandhi lineage,
he was expected to play a prominent role, first in the party, and later, in
government. In 2004, when his mother declined the prime ministership and
instead asked Manmohan Singh to lead the country, Rahul’s reluctance to jump
into governance was understandable. A quick, dramatic entry into Cabinet at
that point would have undermined the Prime Minister, who had no political base
of his own and who depended entirely on the Congress’s first family for his
political survival. Rahul chose instead to work within the organisational ranks
of the Congress; his decision was both tactical and strategic. The fact that he
did not seem greedy for the fruits of power and appeared ready to go through
the drudgery of field work did his public image a lot of good. But he also
tried to use his leadership over the Youth Congress and students’ wing to
democratise these organisations — and through them — the ‘mother party’. Though
his efforts helped the Congress draw fresh talent, the grip of the old guard,
sadly, remains just as firm today as it was eight years ago. More than the
indifferent electoral results Rahul produced in Uttar Pradesh this year then,
it is his failure to make a dent in the party organisation that must surely
rankle more.
Clearly, Rahul Gandhi is not, and could
never have been, the answer to all the shortcomings of the Congress. But if he
is the heir-apparent, as the entire party thinks he is, and he is to be
projected as a prime ministerial candidate in 2014, he must end his wanderings
through the thicket of the party organisation and take on concrete ministerial
responsibilities. Congress leader Salman Khursheed got it partly right when he
lamented the fact that Rahul had so far only shown “cameos” of his thoughts and
ideas. The answer, though, is not for him to come up with some “grand
announcement” for India but to demonstrate to the people that he can actually
administer, as a minister, some of the small but important infrastructure
programmes of the UPA government. On Thursday, he indicated his readiness to
take on a more pro-active role in the party and the government. He should
forget about the party for now. In 2012, Rahul can have no excuse for staying
away from the Cabinet. Anything else would appear as a shirking of
responsibility, or worse, as aversion to working under Manmohan Singh. Indeed,
his entry could give the Prime Minister a perfect opportunity to wield some
long knives in his next Cabinet reshuffle and give younger ministers the
responsibility they deserve.
Which of the following ideas the author would agree with?
1) Rahul has been forthcoming to work with Manmohan
Singh.
2) Tact and strategy are not entirely same.
3) Rahul has been able to break the grip of the old
guard on the party.
4) Rahul’s inclusion in the cabinet can create strife
in the party.
5) Rahul must
take up a significant ministerial role to strengthen his candidature as the
prime ministerial candidate for 2014.
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