The failure to effectively use Hindi and connect with the people was one of the reasons that cost the Congress in last general elections but party chief Rahul Gandhi's speech in Hindi at the plenary session proved that he was ready to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior party leader said today.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the way Gandhi spoke in Hindi, coming straight from his heart, he was trying to connect with the people and this was a big thing for the party.
He also said that Gandhi's speech about breaking walls within the party was being interpreted in different ways both inside and outside the party.
"I think his speech (at plenary on March 18) has given a message that he is a little more prepared now. The way he attacked, the way he used Hindi effectively. I was very, very happy about his use of Hindi, Chavan said.
"Because ultimately, that's where we failed in the last election. We were too English-oriented from (then) prime minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia (Gandhi) ji, P Chidambaram all of us first spoke in English and then in Hindi, Chavan said.
Gandhi spoke straight from the heart, which was a big thing, and he connected with the people largely, he told PTI in an interview.
Asked whether Gandhi was ready to take on Modi in a big way, the senior Maharashtra Congress leader said, "Whether he likes it or not, he only has to take on Mr Modi. There is no other face to do that."
"Is that a message for Muslims that so-called appeasement is being corrected? Articulation of that was always difficult. It's never easy. Whatever you do (in such cases), the other party will always accuse us," he said
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