Rahul Gandhi may believe that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would dance on stage to please voters, but the Congress leader himself prefers a more literal way of making a splash.
The Rae Bareli MP on Sunday jumped into a muddy village pond in Begusarai, Bihar, wearing his trademark white T-shirt and cargo pants, and joined fishermen in their efforts to catch fish.
His party was quick to flag the supposed contrast with Modi, whom Rahul had accused of manufacturing a sanitised pool to perform Chhath rituals instead of wading into the polluted Yamuna. (Modi eventually did neither.)
The Congress shared a video of Rahul’s adventure, with the quip: “This is a real pond.”
Joining Rahul in the pond were ally and Vikassheel Insaan Party leader Mukesh Sahani — a member of the Mallah caste whose traditional occupations are fishing and boating — and Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar.
Rahul, who has been stressing the dignity of labour at his rallies, tried his hand at casting the nets.
News agency PTI reported that the trio had taken a boat to the middle of the pond where Sahani cast a net, impressing Rahul with his prowess. Sahani then jumped into the chest-deep waters, and Rahul followed.
According to PTI, a local news channel reported that Rahul later went to a nearby house for a change of clothes. The channel quoted one of the women residents as saying approvingly: “He washed himself under the hand pump and used the decrepit washroom nearby, all without making any fuss.”
Rahul reminded the fishermen of the Mahagathbandhan’s promises of financial assistance to fisherfolk during the lean fishing period, a fisheries insurance scheme, and the rejuvenation of riversand ponds.
After stepping out of the water, he told reporters: “We have prepared a ‘special manifesto’ for the Extremely Backward Classes, whichwe will implement. We will move forward with everyone.... Our priority will be small businesses.”
Earlier, at a rally in Begusarai, Rahul questioned Modi’s courage.
“The courage of a person is not determined by the size of their chest…. (Mahatma) Gandhiji fought the British with his willpower, he didn’t have such a big chest,” he said.
Rahul repeated his allegation that while then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had stood up to US threats to stop the 1971 Bangladesh war, Modi had succumbed to pressure from Donald Trump and halted Operation Sindoor. (New Delhi denies any third-party involvement in the decision to cease hostilities.)
Rahul added that Modi was in the pocket of “people like Adani and Ambani”.
“There is no land available in Bihar for setting up industries. But for ₹1, you can snatch land from Bihar and give it to Adani…. They are doing the same thing in Dharavi. Land worth lakhs of crores of rupees, Mumbai’s land, Dharavi’s land, they are giving it to Adani,” Rahul alleged.
“Who lives in Dharavi? People from Bihar live there. They do small jobs. They are entrepreneurs. All those people are being evicted, removed, and Ambani and Adani are being helped there.”
He told the crowd that when Modi comes to address them, they should promise to make him victorious if he danced or did yoga poses on the stage. He claimed Modi would oblige.
At a rally in Mokama, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav fired a salvo at Union home minister Amit Shah.
“I want to tell Amit Shah that I am not scared; I am a Bihari boy. Ek Bihari sab par bhari (A single Bihari can outdo all others) — you should always remember this,” he said.
Additional reporting by PTI
