Known to be a keen observer of the US presidential election, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family Rahul Gandhi openly expressed his deep admiration for Democratic nominee Barack Obama, although he added that he found McCain “impressive” as well. Interestingly, his statements come at a time when senior Congress leaders have affirmed that there are clear parallels between the leadership styles of Obama and Rahul. Explaining his attempt to bring the country’s youth into the political mainstream, the AICC general secretary in-charge of the Youth Congress and the NSUI said he was trying to create “thousands of Obamas” to lead India. “What is Obama? He is not a youngster. He reflects democratic values that exist in the US democratic system, but not in the Indian one,” said the Amethi MP at a press conference here. Rahul, who at 37 is 10 years younger than Obama, has made obvious attempts to link his initiatives in the Youth Congress and the NSUI with the “values” Obama stands for. This has not gone unnoticed by senior political leaders who have made note of the parallels in the style and content of the speeches made by the presidential nominee and the young MP. Obama’s “influence” on Rahul first became apparent during the debate on the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha on July 22. Rahul had started his speech saying, “I would not speak as a member of a political party, but I would speak as an Indian.” In his victory speech after Iowa caucus on January 3, Obama had said, “We are not a collection of red (Republican) states and blue (Democratic) states. We are the United States of America.”Rahul referred to his July speech this Wednesday, saying there was “internal consensus” in all political parties, including the BJP and the Left, on the issue of the Indo-US nuclear deal, but the leadership of the “big parties” refused to “open the curtains to let the people know there was consensus”.“People laughed when I said I was talking as an Indian. What I was saying was what I had learnt from young MPs and also from the Left (about internal agreement on nuclear deal),” said Rahul.Building up a case for the importance of nuclear energy, Rahul had cited the examples of two women — Shashikala and Kalawati — in the Lok Sabha: “Three days ago, I went to Vidarbha and there, I met a young lady who has three sons. Shashikala, a landless labourer, lives on Rs 60 a day.” Obama’s popular message of “hope, change and courage” also appears to have had an impact on Rahul. Nevertheless, Rahul on Wednesday sought to make light of these similarities. “Hope and change are good words to use. But I think we have millions of Barack Obamas in India. It is the question of channelising (their energy), giving them voice and power. The reason I am opening them up (Youth Congress and the NSUI) is that I fully intend to give power to them.”
