Lok Sabha leader of opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi has a new address in Parliament. Since Monday, the Congress leader has been sitting in room G-41 (the G is for ground floor) of the new Parliament House, at the opposite end of Union home minister Amit Shah’s chamber on the same floor. And while it’s just been a day since the room was allocated, it’s already become the centre of the Opposition activity.
On Tuesday, just before Gandhi headed to the Lok Sabha before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech, members of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) visited the Congress leader’s office for discussions.
But that’s not the only new thing with the 54-year-old Congress leader. In a major outreach to the media, he has invited requests for all kinds of interviews and interactions. In a post on X, he said: “Unhindered, unfiltered, undaunted – a free and fair conversation is the strength of our democracy! I am here to speak with you, listen to you, and facilitate the true expression of the idea of India.”
To be sure, Gandhi has been quite regular in holding press conferences and taking questions from the media. What he has avoided altogether, however, are individual interviews during the entire election campaign.
In fact, even during the Bharat Jodo Yatras, Gandhi preferred to speak to YouTubers and influencers rather than newspapers and TV channels. In his Parliament speech on Monday, he said he believes that the media have been incessantly attacking him and been completely partisan towards the government. “Relentless attack in the media, 24/7, every single day, abuse-attack, abuse-attack,” he said in the Lok Sabha.
{{/usCountry}}In fact, even during the Bharat Jodo Yatras, Gandhi preferred to speak to YouTubers and influencers rather than newspapers and TV channels. In his Parliament speech on Monday, he said he believes that the media have been incessantly attacking him and been completely partisan towards the government. “Relentless attack in the media, 24/7, every single day, abuse-attack, abuse-attack,” he said in the Lok Sabha.
{{/usCountry}}But just a day later, Gandhi invited emails from all those who wanted not just interviews but also off-record meetings, and not just legacy media but also social media platforms.
“Rahul ji is sitting in his room, and he will meet everybody as LoP,” said his party colleague and lawmaker K Suresh.
Gandhi’s team members, who did not want to be quoted, said that while he still believes the media have been unfair to him, he was always open to listening to all points of view. However, these interactions would not be with those who were clearly “biased”.
“The reason why Rahul ji has also stayed away from granting interviews is because we couldn’t decide who to give it to, and this would always lead to many others being unhappy and complaining,” said one aide, adding, “As LoP, he has to have an official system of interacting and we hope to have a calendar soon.”
Gandhi’s deputy in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, feels that the outreach is just a continuation of his Bharat Jodo mission.
“He felt it was best to reach out directly to the people, through both old and new media. As LoP, he has a greater responsibility to communicate with the people directly and voice their concerns to a larger platform,” said Gogoi.
In the past year, Gandhi has been building relationships with his alliance partners too. Other than Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, HT learns that Gandhi has been speaking frequently with Trinamool Congress’s Abhishek Banerjee. “Once he is LoP, he represents the entire Opposition and this needs balancing, especially of the interests and needs of the smaller parties,” said his former colleague and TMC lawmaker Sushmita Dev.