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Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s maiden speech while addressing India Inc. at the annual general meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) was one of the top trending topics on Twitter India.
Gandhi, who first joined the party’s youth wing and who has been at the forefront to get young leaders into position of power, failed to get the support of the youth of the country that has majority presence on social networking site Twitter.
Gandhi was trending on the website with a Twitter handle called #PappuCII.
The disappointment over the speech stemmed from the fact that Gandhi, who rarely interacts with media, failed to outline a broader vision of the party and his for the country. This is important with general elections slated to be in 2014.
Some of the metaphors used by Gandhi also failed to connect with the Twitterati. One such comment was, "China is a dragon. India is called an elephant, but we're not an elephant, we're a beehive." Such comments, opened nothing but a can of critics.
On becoming the next Prime Minister of the country, he merely said: "It is all smoke. The only relevant question in this country is how can we give our people voice. It is not important what Rahul Gandhi thinks, its important what a billion Indians think."
In times of economic stress, many were disappointed by the lack of clarity on the subject at hand, which was evident through the speech. “Apart from the fact that he isn’t the answer to what India needs, Rahul Gandhi lacks preparation. Doesn’t stand any chance for an office,” said a tweet by Awrytro.
Many tweets, however, were mocking fun at the speech. “Did UPA charge entertainment tax on Rahul Gandhi to India Inc event? For such a performance?,” questioned @Prakash_Sharma.
There was no dearth of supporters either. “Looking at his image in social networks it seems like even an excellent speech by Rahul Gandhi will fuel criticism for his dumbness,” said @DrPColi.
Some tweets even pushed for a possible debate between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi, the chief minister Gujarat BJP. Modi is also a frontrunner from BJP-led coalition’s side as its Prime Ministerial candidate. The United States has an age-old tradition of debates between Presidential candidates, a widely watched TV phenomenon.
Meanwhile BJP leader Yashwant Sinha in a television media interaction said: “I don't want to be harsh on the young man (Rahul)."
