Palestine Bag To Indira’s Sarees: What Priyanka Gandhi’s Political ‘Style’ Means For Rahul
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In the past 48 hours, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has tried on to take the BJP. But the BJP knows that the more she shines, the more Rahul Gandhi is likely to be overshadowed
Wayanad Member of Parliament (MP) and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s bag with ‘Palestine’ written on it became a punching bag for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday.
The ruling party accused Vadra of caring only for Muslims, while she showed no such concern for he Hindus being targeted in Bangladesh.
Did the new MP make the style statement deliberately knowing she could court controversy?
The last time a bag grabbed attention was Mahua Moitra’s LV bag. She used it to counter the barbs by making the point that she has a mind and style of her own. Vadra seems to have pretty much done the same.
आज संसद के शून्य काल में अपनी बात रखी-बांग्लादेश में हिंदुओं और ईसाई अल्पसंख्यकों पर हो जो अत्याचार हो रहा है, उसके खिलाफ सरकार को ठोस कदम उठाने चाहिए।
दुख की बात है कि सेना के हेडक्वार्टर में से वह तस्वीर हटा दी गई है जिसमें पाकिस्तान की सेना भारतीय सेना के सामने आत्मसमर्पण… pic.twitter.com/BVTeniU289
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 16, 2024
VADRA’S COMMENTS
In the week that Vadra has been in Parliament, she has grabbed more eyeballs than her brother. While Rahul Gandhi, too, stirs rows, he comes across and is projected by the BJP as a “fumbling neta”. Vadra, however, clearly knows the game and is playing to the gallery.
Like when she made her debut speech, the BJP was “kind” not to heckle her. However, Vadra did take potshots at the BJP with her repeated references to the “washing machine”, asking whether the missing turncoats were washed away. Her speech was nuanced, low key but pointed.
Since then she, has been making news every day with her comments. Like when she compared the PM’s Saturday speech to a mathematics class, where the students, just like the top ministers, are bored.
दस सालों से इस देश का आम आदमी, गरीब, किसान प्रताड़ित है। इस देश के किसानों की पुकार थी कि हमारी आवाज सुनिए। मजदूरों की पुकार थी कि हमें राहत दीजिए। महिलाओं की पुकार थी कि हमारे साथ अत्याचार हो रहा है, हमें सुरक्षा दीजिए। जन-जन की पुकार थी कि हमारी सुनवाई हो लेकिन नरेंद्र मोदी की… pic.twitter.com/rBNyoI4heE— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) May 18, 2024
VADRA’S DRESSING STYLE
With the Palestine bag, Vadra seemed to have a plan up her sleeve. The first picture with the bag showed her turning at the camera with a beaming face. Inside the Lok Sabha, Vadra raised a point of order on Vijay Diwas and also expressed concern over the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh and demanded a statement from the government.
As she came out, she was aware, it seems, of the BJP controversy. Nestling the bag on her lap, she accused the critics of patriarchy, who don’t allow a woman to dress and carry herself as she wishes. A point she often makes.
Like when she would visit Rae Bareli and Amethi, when Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were MPs from there, she would dress in her grandmother Indira Gandhi’s old handloom sarees. When she would visit Parliament to see her brother speak, she would often be seen power dressing in western outfits.
Of the three Gandhis, Vadra is considered the trouble-shooter – the one who takes on the BJP more sharply than the brother.
In the past 48 hours, Vadra has tried on to take the BJP. But the BJP knows that the more she shines, the more Rahul Gandhi is likely to be overshadowed or shown in poorer light.