Now that Rahul Gandhi is back,
the Congress party needs to answer the following questions once again - question
that are asked again and again - questions that have been asked with increased
frequency during the 59 days of Rahul’s
sabbatical (if we take February 16 as the starting day of his leave of absence)
and the questions that will be asked with a 'never -heard-of frequency' now - the
questions that are imperative for Congress’ future - the questions that have
always been vital for the party post-2000.
What role will Sonia Gandhi play?
Will she remain President of the party now?
Or some role bigger than a
President will be chosen for her, given her age, her experience in Indian polity
and given her necessity for a section of Congress’ leaders (or for that matter,
the overall Congress)?
When will Rahul Gandhi make his
first public appearance after his 'return'? Will the April 19 Kisan Rally stand
for his first public appearance as claimed by many Congress' leaders?
When will he take over the
Congress party from Sonia Gandhi? When will we come to know about his official
coronation as the next Congress President?
What role will be entrusted to
her elder sister, Priyanka Gandhi? Like the evergreen demands of the leaders from
the grand old party of India - leaving Sonia Gandhi untouched or making Rahul
Gandhi the party President - bringing Priyanka Gandhi to the mainstream of the
party-politics also figures prominently.
Well, the government must be well
aware of the whereabouts of the Congress party. After all, Rahul Gandhi is
protected by the Special Protection Group (SPG) which is under the Ministry of
Home Affairs.
Also, if he was out of India, it
would well reflect on his passport as his visit might be personal in nature,
but it would have to follow the rules of land, i.e., entries in his passport.
His overseas/abroad visits are bound to reflect on his passport maintenance of which
comes directly under the Ministry of External Affairs.
And a person like Rahul Gandhi
cannot disappear like this, even if he is in India where internet freedom is an
issue - where a freedom fighter's family, even if the freedom fighter in
question is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, is subjected to various snooping
methods like they were done in the British colonial India - where the
government has extensive methods and elaborate ways to know about anyone.
Yes, it is a different matter if
they don't choose to tell us about him. After all, they are political rivals of
the Congress party and have come to the power by defeating (a humiliating
defeat) the later.