Defending Rahul

The newly appointed Youth Congress chief from Punjab, Amrinder Singh Raja Brar, took charge in the capital accompanied by loud "dhol" beats, several senior Congress leaders and an enthusiastic turnout of supporters from his home state. Addressing the Youth Congress activists, the new chief was astute enough to utilise the occasion to defend Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi - also in charge of the Youth Congress - from the volley of media criticism that has been directed at him since the party's dismal Lok Sabha poll performance. With the media present in large numbers, Brar directly addressed "presswale" saying that, despite their perception, it was Gandhi who had hand-picked an "orphan like him" without any political lineage and appointed him Youth Congress chief, just on the basis of his credentials in the Youth Congress. "It was Rahul Gandhi", Brar said again reminding the media contingent, "who fought for the poor farmers at Bhatta-Parsaul, which led to the land acquisition Act; and now that the BJP government has brought in the Ordinance on land acquisition we shall take up the fight again".