Monsoon spring

Rahul Gandhi’s newfound proactiveness gets his party elated but mixed responses from other opposition parties

- SONI MISHRA

CONGRESS PRESIDENT Sonia Gandhi made her first appearance in the monsoon session of Parliament on August 9, 21 days after it started. She had stayed away because of health reasons and was welcomed to the house by the Congress members. Among the leaders who ushered her in was her son, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, who has emerged out of her shadows in the session, showing not just his willingness for deeper involvement in his party’s parliamentary strategy but also a confidence to engage with other opposition players.

Though Rahul had earlier refused to take over as the Congress’s leader in the Lok Sabha in the monsoon session, he displayed a newfound proactiveness in all parliamentary matters. The changes include a much-improved attendance (he had missed most of the session last year when he accompanied Sonia to the US for her medical check-up), the regularity with which he has been asking questions, and, more significantly, his emergence as a key strategist for the party as well as coordinating with other opposition parties.

Rahul had long been criticised for his seemingly indifferent attitude to Parliament, and his detractors gleefully pointed out his below-par attendance and the low level of involvement in parliamentary procedure.

The Congress leader held meetings with opposition leaders and addressed media conferences, and his performance in Parliament was complemented outside with a tractor rally to express solidarity with the protesting farmers and a cycle ride to highlight the issue of high fuel prices. He also visited the parents of a girl who was allegedly raped and murdered in the capital and attended the farmers’ mock Parliament session, held to protest the three contentious farm laws.