Congress MP Rahul Gandhi outside Parliament House in New Delhi on Wednesday. — G.N. JHA

After reviving the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday interacted with party MPs for over three hours after the CPP general body meeting. The interaction was both free and frank. A confident Rahul was also optimistic of the party’s fortunes.
The young Gandhi was not only seen listening to the party MPs, but also raised some pointed questions. For example, he asked why people belonging to over 80 per cent population (SC, ST, OBC and minorities) are not seen in the top posts in government services, institutions, public and private sectors and even in schools and colleges.
Village pradhans are going to emerge as a power centre and MPs and legislators could be marginalised if they fail to remain in touch with villages, he cautioned.
The Congress continues to remain a major political force in the country irrespective of electoral reverses. For example, the party is out of power in Uttar Pradesh for over 20 years but it still has over 10 per cent votes.
“People are coming to us when we started touring the state. If we take little efforts, approach them, then see how picture can change. Mayawati, Mulayam Singh think about today — the present — but the Congress has a vision of development,” he said.
“Opposition parties are finding it difficult to oppose our welfare programmes like food security, RTI, MNREGA,” he observed.
Mr Gandhi said the Congress has an appeal across the country which no party has. Even in Gujarat, the Congress is still a political force despite ups and downs, said Mr Gandhi. The state was basically dominated by the Congress (O) formed by the old guards after the 1969 split. But where is the Congress (O), asked Mr Gandhi.
The Congress MPs suggested to him to have a forum where the party workers can express their views fearlessly. They also drew his attention towards the growing role of bureaucracy.
Mr Gandhi mingled with the party MPs from Rajasthan, then party MPs and leaders from Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir joined them.
During the interaction, Rahul shared with MPs how village people, the “aam aadmi” minutely observe leaders, their approach towards their style of functioning.
The partymen said Rahul told them the response the Congress was getting now in Uttar Pradesh and the success it got in the state was proof enough that the party’s basic vote was intact.
“Benibabu told me that I don’t know how difficult it is to fight with Congress,” Mr Gandhi told a group of MPs and ministers. He was apparently referring to Union minister Beni Prasad Verma, who was till recently a close associate of Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Samajwadi Party.
“The Congress committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh by giving 300 seats to the BSP during the Assembly elections in the Nineties. Even after that our 10 per cent vote has been intact,” he said, adding that this showed the tremendous goodwill enjoyed by the party among the people.
Mr Gandhi, who has been vigorously touring poll-bound UP, said that he often sees the goodwill but gets complaints that “people are ready to vote for us, but our leaders are not visiting them”.
He told a Union minister there could also be need of a advisory councils of expert at the state-level to help and advise the CMs.
The minister’s contention earlier was that the CMs are heavily dependent on the bureaucrats who have been running the show in several states.
One Congress leader said that Mr Gandhi spoke of the problems being faced by Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav to run the state for want of a vision and lack of understanding of the complexities of governance.