Rahul and I

We want to learn from the elders,8217;8217; Rahul Gandhi said on TV, 8216;8216;but this boycott of Parliament by the BJP is shocking.1...

We want to learn from the elders,8217;8217; Rahul Gandhi said on TV, 8216;8216;but this boycott of Parliament by the BJP is shocking.8217;8217;

I agreed. 8216;8216;Look at these Generation Next leaders, poor chaps 8212; their first time in Parliament, and see what they to go through,8217;8217; I remarked to nobody in particular.

8216;8216;What can Rahul learn from Parliament. There are only walkouts, slogan-shouting. I told him today you should learn from the grand old party, the Congress,8217;8217; chirped my Man Friday, Mukul, as he walked in.

In our house, name-dropping was common. As are Mukul8217;s mysterious calls from 8216;8216;No. 10 Janpath8217;8217; . I did not know whether he only knew some petty clerk of Vincent George, Madhavan or Pillai or whoever else. I didn8217;t dare to question his claims because nobody messes with No. 10. So if he claimed he met Rahul Gandhi, I was not brave enough to call his bluff. 8216;8216;So what was your advice to Rahul,8217;8217; I asked.

8216;8216;I told him that lessons have to be learnt from the way his party conducted itself in the four States. These States are the training grounds which should be his shikhsa abhiyan, not Parliament.8217;8217;

8216;8216;The BJP is not allowing Parliament to function. These are first-time MPs representing their constituencies. What can they learn from these States?8217;8217; I asked.

8216;8216;Plenty,8217;8217; was the reply. 8216;8216;I told Rahul that Gen Next can learn very little from the BJP. For instance, Jharkhand is typically how a Congress-appointed Governor behaves. Fourty-one MLAs were taken to Delhi to show that the BJP had majority, but the Governor in his wisdom chose Shibu Soren to prove his majority8230;8217;8217;

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8216;8216;Didn8217;t you tell Rahul that these MLAs were kidnapped etc,8217;8217; I asked.

8216;8216;Of course,8217;8217; replied Mukul. 8216;8216;I explained how Pramod Mahajan managed it, but couldn8217;t the Congress have done the same thing considering they have the government.8217;8217;

8216;8216;Rahul must be appalled,8217;8217; I said.

8216;8216;He kept repeating 8216;hame seekhna hai,8217;8217; disclosed Mukul. 8216;8216;I also explained why inspite of the Rane government proving its majority, President8217;s Rule was imposed in Goa.8217;8217;

8216;8216;I hope you told him the Congress believed in the Constitution.8217;8217;

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8216;8216;No, 8217;8217; said Mukul, 8216;8216;I pointed out that this was because of Jharkhand developments. Thanks to Jharkhand, the BJP boycotted Parliament. Now, the leadership wants to impose President8217;s Rule everywhere.8217;8217;

8216;8216;But hasn8217;t the Jharkand Governor asked Soren to prove his majority?8217;8217; I asked.

8216;8216;You sound like Rahul. He asked me the same question,8217;8217; said Mukul. 8216;8216;But I told him that the Congress does not want to look as if it is dictating to the Governor. The Congress is worried about perceptions more than reality. Even if someone had instructed the Governor earlier, the Governor has now been told not to listen to anybody.8217;8217;

8216;8216;Looks like he has now taken the latest instruction very seriously,8217;8217; I said.

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8216;8216;I told him Congressmen should be trained when to listen to an instruction and when not to,8217;8217; argued Mukul. 8216;8216;In Bihar, I told him that the Congress had to contend with an ally like Laloo who wants to form a government even if it is against all laws of arithmetic.8217;8217;

8216;8216;What was Rahul8217;s response?8217;8217; I asked.

8216;8216;He was confused,8217;8217; was the retort. 8216;8216;How could Jharkhand have anything to do with Goa? And what had Laloo to do with arithmetic? In any case, he told me 8216;hame bahut kuch seekhna hai8217;.8217;8217;