Rahul Gandhi

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Rahul Gandhi

President of the Indian National Congress

In office

16 December 2017 – 10 August 2019

Preceded by Sonia Gandhi

Succeeded by Sonia Gandhi (Interim)

Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

Incumbent

Assumed office

23 May 2019

Preceded by M. I. Shanavas
Constituency Wayanad, Kerala

In office

17 May 2004 – 23 May 2019

Preceded by Sonia Gandhi

Succeeded by Smriti Irani

Constituency Amethi, Uttar Pradesh

Vice-President of the Indian National Congress

In office

19 January 2013 – 16 December 2017

President Sonia Gandhi

Preceded by Position established

Succeeded by Position abolished

General Secretary of Indian National Congress

In office

25 September 2007 – 19 January 2013

President Sonia Gandhi

Chair of Indian Youth Congress

Incumbent

Assumed office

25 September 2007

Preceded by Position established

 Chair of National Students’ Union of India

Incumbent

Assumed office

25 September 2007

Preceded by Position established

Personal details

Born 19 June 1970 (age 49)

New Delhi, India

Political party Indian National Congress

Parents Rajiv Gandhi

Sonia Gandhi

Relatives Nehru–Gandhi family

Education St. Stephen's College, Delhi

Harvard University

Rollins College (BA)

Trinity College, Cambridge (MPhil)

Signature

Website Official website

Rahul Gandhi ( pronunciation (help·info) [ˈraːɦʊl ˈɡaːnd̪ʱiː]) (born 19 June 1970) is an

Indian politician who was the President of the Indian National Congress from 16
December 2017 to 3 July 2019. He hails from a long line of politicians, known as
the Nehru-Gandhi family, which has occupied a prominent place in the politics of
India ever since the country gained independence in 1947. His great-
grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first prime minister of India and also the longest-
serving Prime Minister of India having served for a total of seventeen years. Gandhi's
grandmother, Indira, was the first female Prime Minister of India and his father, Rajiv,
was the youngest prime minister of India to be sworn in to office. The son of Sonia and
Rajiv, he is the chairperson of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students
Union of India.[1] A member of the Indian Parliament, Gandhi represents the constituency
of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha.[2]
Rahul Gandhi stayed away from the public sphere for much of his childhood and early
youth; he attained primary education in New Delhi and Dehradun but was
later homeschooled because of security concerns. He later attended Rollins
College under a pseudonym, his identity being known only to a select few individuals,
which included certain university officials and security agencies. After obtaining degrees
in International Relations and Development Studies at the universities of Rollins
and Cambridge, Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm in
London. He established the Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm, Backops
Services Private Ltd.
Rahul Gandhi entered politics in 2004 and successfully contested the general elections
held that year from Amethi, a seat that was earlier held by his father; he won again from
the constituency in 2009 and 2014. Amidst calls from Congress party veterans for his
greater involvement in party politics and national government, Gandhi was elected
Congress Vice-President in 2013, having served as the General Secretary previously.
Rahul Gandhi led the INC's campaign in the 2014 Indian general elections; the party
suffered its worst electoral result in its history, winning only 44 seats compared to 206
seats won previously in the 2009 general election.
Rahul Gandhi took over as the president of the Congress in December 2017. He is also
a trustee of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust.

Contents

 1Early life and background

 2Political career
o 2.1Formative years
o 2.2Youth politics
o 2.3Indian general election, 2009
o 2.42012 Assembly elections
o 2.5Indian general election, 2014
o 2.6Post-general election
 2.6.1Farmers' and Land Agitation
 2.6.2National Herald corruption case
o 2.7Indian general election, 2019
o 2.8Electoral Performances
 3Positions held
o 3.1Within party
 4Political and social views
o 4.1National security
o 4.2Lokpal
 o 4.3Poverty
o 4.4Ordinance on Convicted Lawmakers
o 4.5Women's rights
o 4.6LGBT rights
 5Personal life
 6References
 7Further reading
 8External links

Early life and background

Further information: Nehru–Gandhi family
Rahul Gandhi was born in Delhi on 19 June 1970,[3] as the first of the two children
of Rajiv Gandhi, who later became the Prime Minister of India, and Italian-born Sonia
Gandhi, who later became President of Indian National Congress, and as the grandson
of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. His paternal grandfather Feroze Gandhi was
a Parsi from Gujarat.[4] He is also the great-grandson of India's first Prime
Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Priyanka Vadra is his younger sister[5] and Robert Vadra is
his brother-in-law. He identifies himself as a Hindu Brahmin.[6]
Rahul Gandhi attended St. Columba's School, Delhi[7] before entering The Doon
School in Dehradun, Uttarakhand from 1981 to 1983. Meanwhile, his father had joined
politics and became the Prime Minister on 31 October 1984 when Indira Gandhi
was assassinated. Due to the security threats faced by Indira Gandhi's family from Sikh
extremists, Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka were home-schooled thereafter. [8]
Rahul Gandhi joined St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 1989 for his undergraduate
education but moved to Harvard University after he completed the first year
examinations.[9] In 1991, after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers
(LTTE)[10] during an election rally, he shifted to Rollins College in Florida, USA, due to
security concerns and obtained his B.A. in 1994. [11] During his time at Rollins, he
assumed the pseudonym Raul Vinci and his identity was known only to the university
officials and security agencies.[9][12] He further went on to obtain an M.Phil. from Trinity
College, Cambridge in 1995.[13]
After graduation, Rahul Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management
consulting firm, in London.[14] In 2002, he was one of the directors of Mumbai-
based technology outsourcing firm Backops Services Private Ltd.[15]

Political career
Formative years
In March 2004, Rahul Gandhi announced his entry into politics by announcing that he
would contest the May 2004 elections, standing for his father's former constituency
of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament.[16] His
mother had held the seat until she transferred to the neighbouring seat of Rae Bareilly.
The Congress had been doing poorly in Uttar Pradesh, holding only 10 of the 80 Lok
Sabha seats in the state at the time.[17] At the time, this move generated surprise among
political commentators, who had regarded his sister Priyanka as being the more
charismatic and likely to succeed. It generated speculation that the presence of a young
member of India's most famous political family would reinvigorate the Congress party's
political fortunes among India's youthful population [18] In his first interview with foreign
media, Rahul Gandhi portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned
"divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to
reduce caste and religious tensions.[16] Rahul Gandhi won, retaining the family
stronghold with a victory margin of over 100,000. [19] Until 2006 he held no other office. [20]
Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka managed their mother's campaign for re-election
to Rae Bareilly in 2006, which was won with a victory margin of over 400,000 votes.
[21]
 He was a prominent figure in the Congress campaign for the 2007 Uttar Pradesh
Assembly elections; Congress, however, won only 22 seats of the 403 seats with 8.53%
of votes.[22]
Rahul Gandhi was appointed General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee on
24 September 2007 in a reshuffle of the party secretariat. [23] In the same reshuffle, he
was also given charge of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of
India.[24] In 2008, senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily mentioned "Rahul-as-PM" idea
when the PM of India Manmohan Singh was still abroad. [25] He was elevated to the
position of the vice-president of the party in January 2013. [26]
Youth politics
In September 2007 when he was appointed general secretary in charge of the Indian
Youth Congress (IYC) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI), Gandhi
promised to reform youth politics.[27] In his attempt to prove himself thus, in November
2008 Gandhi held interviews at his 12 Tughlak Lane residence in New Delhi to handpick
at least 40 people who will make up the think-tank of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC),
an organisation that he has been keen to transform since he was appointed general
secretary in September 2007.[28]
Under Rahul Gandhi, the IYC and NSUI have seen a dramatic increase in members
from 200,000 to 2.5 million.[29] The Indian Express wrote in 2011, "Three years later, as
another organisational reshuffle is in the offing, Rahul Gandhi's dream remains
unrealised with party veterans manipulating internal elections in the Youth Congress
and a host of people with questionable background gaining entry into it." [30]
Indian general election, 2009
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi retained his Amethi seat by defeating his
nearest rival by a margin of over 370,000 votes. Gandhi was credited with the Congress
revival in Uttar Pradesh where they won 21 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats. [31][32] He
spoke at 125 rallies across the country in six weeks.[33] The nationwide elections defied
the predictions made by pre-poll predictions and exit polls and gave a clear mandate to
the incumbent Congress-led UPA government. [34]
In May 2011, Rahul Gandhi was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police at Bhatta Parsaul
village after he turned out in support of agitating farmers demanding more
compensation for their land being acquired for a highway project. Rahul Gandhi was
taken away from the protest site and later given bail and dropped off at the Delhi-UP
border.[35]
2012 Assembly elections
Rahul Gandhi campaigned during the 2012 Assembly elections in the politically
crucial Uttar Pradesh election for almost two months, holding 200 rallies. However
Congress ranked as the fourth party in the state, winning 28 seats, an increase of six
seats from the previous 2007 elections. Out of the 15 seats in the Amethi parliamentary
constituency, Congress won two.[36][37]
Congress activists defended the result in Uttar Pradesh, saying "there's a big difference
between state elections and national polls and in the end there is only the first family, a
hope and a prayer",[38] and pointing out the turn around attributed to Gandhi in the 2009
Lok Sabha national elections in the state. However, Rahul Gandhi publicly accepted
responsibility for the result in an interview after the result was declared. [39]
In the Gujarat assembly elections held later in the year, Gandhi was not made the head
of the election campaign. This was seen and regarded by opponents as an admission of
defeat and was termed as a tactic to avoid blame of defeat. [40][41][42] Congress won 57 seats
in the assembly of 182, which was 2 less than the previous elections in 2007. Later in
bypolls, Congress lost 4 more seats to BJP.
Indian general election, 2014
Main article: 2014 Indian general election
Gandhi contested the 2014 Indian general election from his constituency, Amethi.[43] and
led the election campaign of the Indian National Congress. [44] Gandhi held the Amethi
seat by defeating his nearest rival, BJP's Smriti Irani, by a reduced margin of 107,000
votes.[32][45] Under his leadership, the Indian National Congress suffered its worst ever
performance in elections and won only 44 seats compared to 206 seats won previously
in the 2009 general election.[46][47] The Congress-led electoral alliance, the UPA also had
its worst ever performance in elections and won only 59 seats compared to 262 seats
won previously in the 2009 general election. [47][48][49] After the defeat, Gandhi offered to
resign his posts, only to be rejected by the party's working committee. [50]
Post-general election
Farmers' and Land Agitation
In February 2015, Gandhi went on a leave of absence to an "undisclosed location to
reflect both on recent events related to the party and its future course". [51] After returning
from his leave of absence, Gandhi addressed the farmer and worker's rally, named
as Kisan Khet Mazdoor Rally in Ramlila Maidan on 19 April 2015. Here he made
"references to his agitations in Niyamgiri in Orissa and Bhatta-Parsaul in Greater Noida
in Uttar Pradesh".[52] The rally was attended by 1 lakh people. In the speech he gave, he
criticised the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi about his comment in Toronto where
he said that he was "cleaning the mess created by previous governments". [53] He also
said "Do you know how Modi won the election?.. He borrowed thousands of crores from
industrialists for his several campaigns and advertisements. How will he pay them
back? He will pay them back with your land. He will give your land to his industrialist
friends."[52]
He mocked the government as "suit-boot government", a reference to Modi's
monogrammed suit which he wore in the Republic Day meeting with Barack Obama.
Moreover, he used the "acche din government" jibe (which was Modi's election
campaign slogan meaning "good days government") and mentioned that it had "failed
the country".[54]
A land bill was introduced by the BJP government in the parliament in May which was
criticised by the opposition parties.[55] Accusing the government of "murdering" UPA's
land bill,[56] Gandhi promised to prevent the bill from being passed, if not in the
parliament then would "stop you [ BJP government] on streets". He further accused the
government of diluting the bill and called it as "anti-farmer". [55] Gandhi also drew parallel
between "daylight robbery" and the bill. [57] On 26 May, the day of the Modi government's
first anniversary, Gandhi commented at a rally in Kozhikode "Unfortunately, birthday
celebrations is only for a few powerful friends of the government. Kisan, farmers and
mazdoor have nothing to celebrate." [58]
National Herald corruption case
In the National Herald corruption case, the Delhi High Court dismissed the appeals of
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and five others which included Motilal Vora, Oscar
Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Satyan Pitroda in December 2015,[59] and ordered them
to appear in person before the trial court on 9 December. [60]
Indian general election, 2019
Gandhi coined[failed verification] the slogan "Chowkidar Chor Hai" as a jibe against Narendra
Modi, BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2019 Indian general election.[61] The
slogan was aimed at Modi in relation to the alleged irregularities and favouritism in
awarding the contracts for the Rafale fighter jet deal.[62][63] The said case was considered
by the Supreme Court of India and after carefully going through all the evidence, the
high court dismissed the case and exonerated the current government of India. [64]
Rahul Gandhi contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from two constituencies, Amethi,
UP[65] and Wayanad, Kerala.[66] He led the election campaign of the Indian National
Congress party. Under his leadership the party improved its seat count from 44 out of
543 in 2014 to 52 out of 542 in 2019. It also boosted its vote from 19.3% to 19.5% in
2019.
Rahul Gandhi won the Wayanad seat in the 2019 general elections. [67] However, he lost
his existing seat of Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani by a margin of 55,120 votes.[68]
Electoral Performances
Constituency Votes Vote share
Year Election Party Result
Name gained %
 14th Lok
2004 Amethi Won 3,90,179 66.18%
Sabha

15th Lok
2009 Amethi Won 4,64,195 71.78%
Sabha

Indian National
16th Lok Congress 
2014 Amethi Won 4,08,651 46.71%
Sabha

Amethi Lost 4,13,394 43.86%

17th Lok
2019
Sabha
Wayanad Won 7,06,367 64.67%

Positions held
Year Description

Elected to 14th Lok Sabha

2004
 Member, Standing Committee on Home Affairs (2004-06)
 Member, Standing Committee on Human Resource Development (2006-09)
Elected to 15th Lok Sabha (2nd term)

2009
 Member, Standing Committee on Human Resource Development
 Member, Consultative Committee on Rural Development
Elected to 16th Lok Sabha (3rd term)

2014  Member, Standing Committee on External Affairs

 Member, Consultative Committee on Ministry of Finance and Corporate
Affairs
Elected to 17th Lok Sabha (4th term)

2019
 Member, Standing Committee on Defence
 Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs

Within party
Year Position Preceded by Succeeded by
2007 - 2013 General secretary of INC

Chairperson of Indian Youth Position Incumbent (as of

2007 - 2013
Congress established 2020)

2007 - Incumbent (as of Position Incumbent (as of

Chairperson of NSUI
2020) established 2020)

Position
2013 - 2016 Vice president of INC Position abolished
established

Sonia Gandhi
2017 - 2019 President of INC Sonia Gandhi
(interim)

Political and social views

National security

68th United States Secretary of State John Kerry with Rahul Gandhi at the Roosevelt House in New Delhi.

In December 2010 during the United States diplomatic cables leak, WikiLeaks leaked a

cable dated 3 August 2009, where the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh had
hosted a lunch on 20 July 2009 for Rahul Gandhi, then the General Secretary of the
AICC. One of the guests who was invited for the lunch was the United States
Ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer. In a "candid conversation" with Roemer, he
said that he believes Hindu extremists pose a greater threat to his country
than Muslim militants. Rahul Gandhi referred specifically to more-polarising figures in
the Bharatiya Janata Party. Also responding to the ambassador's query about the
activities in the region by the Islamist militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Rahul
Gandhi said there was evidence of some support for the group among certain elements
in India's indigenous Muslim population.[69][70] In a response to this, the BJP heavily
criticised Rahul Gandhi for his statements. BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar
Prasad slammed Rahul Gandhi, saying that his language was a bigger threat to India,
dividing the people of the country on communal grounds. Speaking to reporters, Prasad
said, "In one stroke Mr. Rahul Gandhi has sought to give a big leverage to the
propaganda to all the extremist and terrorist groups in Pakistan, and also some
segments of Pakistani establishment. It would also seriously compromise India's fight
against terror as also our strategic security. "Adding that terrorism has no religion, he
said that Rahul Gandhi had shown his lack of understanding India. [71] Gandhi has also
been critical of groups like the RSS and has compared them to terrorist organisations
like SIMI.[72][73]
Rahul Gandhi with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.

After the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, at a Madhya Pradesh election rally in Indore, Rahul
Gandhi claimed that a police officer told him that Pakistan's ISI was trying to recruit
disgruntled riot-affected youngsters.[74][75] However, the district administration, the UP
state government, the Union Home Ministry, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)
and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) denied any such development. [76][77] This remark drew
heavy criticism from various political outfits such as BJP, SP, CPI and JD(U).
[78]
 Congress's Jairam Ramesh said Gandhi needed to apologise to the Muslim
community for this remark.[79] In reply to the ECI's show-cause notice to explain why
action should not be initiated against him for violating the Model Code of Conduct,
Gandhi said that he didn't intend to exploit communal sentiments but was referring to
divisive politics.[80]
The BJP also asked the government to explain why Gandhi, who holds no post in the
government, is being briefed by intelligence officers on important security issues. [81] On
13 November 2013, Election Commission of India finding Gandhi's explanation to be
insufficient conveyed its displeasure and advised him to be more circumspect in his
public utterances during election campaigns. [82]
He mocked the Indian Army, its elite dog unit and International Yoga Day in June 2019
in a tweet that the media termed "inexplicable". [83]
Lokpal
Rahul Gandhi opines that the Lokpal should be made a constitutional body and it should
be made accountable to the Parliament, just like the Election Commission of India. He
also feels that Lokpal alone cannot root out corruption. This statement came out on 25
August 2011, on the 10th day of Anna Hazare's fast. This statement was considered as
a delaying tactic by the opposition and Team Anna's members. It was consequently
slammed by prominent opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.[84] The
Parliamentary Standing Committee led by Abhishek Manu Singhvi tabled the Jan Lokpal
Bill report in the Rajya Sabha on 9 December 2011. The report recommended the
Lokpal to be made into a constitutional body. In response, Hazare attacked Rahul
Gandhi, claiming he had made the bill "weak and ineffective". [85]
Poverty
Rahul Gandhi speaking at The Doon School's Model United Nations in 2017

During a rally in Allahabad, Gandhi said "Poverty is just a state of mind. It does not
mean the scarcity of food, money or material things. If one possesses self-confidence,
then one can overcome poverty."[86] The phrase "state of mind" drew sharp criticism
with BJP Uttar Pradesh spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak alleging him to be mocking
the poor.[87] Oneindia News wrote that he made "economics irrelevant". [88]
Ordinance on Convicted Lawmakers
Main article: Disqualification of convicted representatives in India
Rahul Gandhi, on "the convicted lawmakers ordinance" insisted that the ordinance is
"complete nonsense"[89] and "What our government has done is wrong". [89] This was
expressed on 28 September 2013 in a press meet, when Rahul made a surprise visit to
a press meet organised by Ajay Maken on the topic.[90] The ordinance, earlier, was
cleared by the government to negate a Supreme Court's judgment that would have led
to the ejection of convicted lawmakers. [91][92]
Women's rights
Gandhi has pushed for the empowerment of women. [93][94] He backed the Women's
Reservation Bill which would allow 33% reservation of all Lok Sabha and state
legislative assembly seats for women. This bill passed the Rajya Sabha on 9 March
2010 but has not yet been voted on by the Lok Sabha as of February 2014. [95][96][97]
LGBT rights
Gandhi had backed the repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and the
decriminalisation of homosexuality.[98]

Personal life
While in 2004, Gandhi had told the press that he had a Spanish girlfriend, an architect,
living in Venezuela, whom he had met while studying in England.[99][100] In 2013, he
suggested that he may not get married.[101]
Natwar Singh, a former Congress minister has said that Gandhi has been an atheist for
half of his life.[102]

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India. 12 April 2014. Retrieved  29 April 2014.
44. ^ Miglani, Sanjeev (17 January 2014).  "Family heir Rahul Gandhi to
lead party's election campaign". Reuters. Retrieved  30 April 2014.
45. ^ "Constituencywise-All Candidates". Election Commission of India.
Archived from  the original on 17 May 2014.
46. ^ "After its worst defeat ever in Lok Sabha elections, what can
Congress do to recover?". Daily News & Analysis. 19 May 2014.
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47. ^ Jump up to:a b "India election results in full". BBC News. 16 May 2009.
Retrieved 21 May 2014.
48. ^ "Results India".  electionsdata.ndtv.com. Archived from  the
original on 17 May 2014.
49. ^ "The worst defeat: Where the Congress went wrong".  IBN Live. 17
May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
50. ^ Burke, Jason (19 May 2014).  "India's Congress party refuses to
accept resignations of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi".  The Guardian.
Retrieved 19 June  2015.
51. ^ "Rahul Gandhi does himself more harm than Congress with leave of
absence". First Post. Retrieved 14 March  2015.
52. ^ Jump up to:a b "Rahul Gandhi attacks Modi, BJP at farmers rally but
doesn't mention plans to save Cong". First Post. Retrieved  19
June  2015.
53. ^ "The relaunch of Rahul Gandhi". Open The Magazine. Retrieved  19
June  2015.
54. ^ "Rahul Gandhi tears into Modi's 'suit-boot ki sarkar '". Times of India.
Retrieved 19 June2015.
55. ^ Jump up to:a b "Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Narendra Modi over land bill,
says 'bigger thieves come in daylight wearing suits '". Zee News. 12
May 2015. Retrieved 19 June  2015.
56. ^ "Modi govt is anti-farmer, murdered UPA's Land Bill: Rahul Gandhi
in LS". India TV News. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 19 June  2015.
57. ^ "Land Bill: Rahul Gandhi leads Opposition charge". Deccan
Chronicle. 13 May 2015. Retrieved  19 June 2015.
58. ^ "Narendra Modi govt hurrying with land bill due to some reason:
Rahul Gandhi". Live Mint. 26 May 2015. Retrieved  19 June 2015.
59. ^ Jeelani, Mehboob; Kumar, Nirnimesh (8 December 2015). "Sonia,
Rahul to appear in court on December 19, Congress disrupts
Parliament". The Hindu.
60. ^ "National Herald case: Loan write-off, conflict of interest, benefiting
takeover by family".  The Indian Express. 9 December 2014.
61. ^ "'Chowkidar Chor Hai': Uddhav Thackeray Uses Rahul Gandhi's
Jibe To Attack Modi". HuffPost India. 25 December 2018.
Retrieved 18 March  2019.
62. ^ "Narendra Modi urges supporters to take 'main bhi chowkidar'
pledge". telegraphindia.com. 16 March 2019. Retrieved  18
March  2019.
63. ^ "In A New Gimmick, PM Changes Twitter Profile Name To
'Chowkidar Narendra Modi'". 17 March 2019. Retrieved  20
March  2019.
64. ^ "Supreme Court dismisses pleas seeking review of Rafale
judgm..."  The Times of India. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 18
March  2020.
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Times of India ►". The Times of India. The Times of India. 10 April
2019. Retrieved  10 April 2019.
66. ^ "Rahul Gandhi files nomination from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat -
Times of India ►". The Times of India. The Times of India. 4 April
2019. Retrieved  10 April 2019.
67. ^ "General Election 2019 - Election Commission of
India". results.eci.gov.in. Retrieved  23 May  2019.
68. ^ "General Election 2019 - Election Commission of
India". results.eci.gov.in. Retrieved  23 May  2019.
69. ^ "Reaching Out to Rahul Gandhi and Other Young
Parliamentarians".  Wikileaks. Retrieved  10 January 2011.
70. ^ Copy of diplomatic cable dated (16 December 2010). "US Embassy
Cables: Ambassador Warned That Radical Hindu Groups May Pose
Bigger Threat Than LeT in India". The Guardian. London.
Retrieved 17 December 2010.
71. ^ "Rahul Gandhi Responds to WikiLeaks Controversy on Hindu
Extremism Remarks". NDTV. 17 December 2010. Retrieved  10
January  2011.
72. ^ RSS is 'fanatical' like banned outfit SIMI: Rahul. The Economic
Times. 6 October 2010
73. ^ RSS as fanatical as SIMI: Rahul. Hindustan Times (6 October 2010).
Retrieved 9 August 2011.
74. ^ "Fresh row over Rahul Gandhi remark on UP riots". dna. 23
December 2013.
75. ^ ANI (26 October 2013). "Congress, BJP lock horns over Rahul
Gandhi's ISI remark".  business-standard.com.
76. ^ "Home Ministry distances itself from Rahul Gandhi's ISI
remarks". Zee News. 26 October 2013.
77. ^ Sutapa Deb (29 October 2013).  "Muzaffarnagar riot victims furious
over Rahul Gandhi's ISI remark".  NDTV.com.
78. ^ "Rahul Gandhi gets it from Left and Right for ISI remark". The Times
of India.
79. ^ "Rahul Gandhi must say sorry to Muslims: Jairam
Ramesh".  newindianexpress.com.
80. ^ "Rahul Gandhi replies to Election Commission's notice over his ISI
remark, denies model code violation".  intoday.in.
81. ^ Prasad Sanyal (25 October 2013).  "Rahul Gandhi attacked for ISI
remarks about Muzaffarnagar Muslims". NDTV.com.
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Commission of India. Retrieved  30 April 2014.
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India News". Archived from the original  on 1 November 2019.
84. ^ Sulekha news (27 August 2011).  "Sushma tears into Rahul's
address on Lokpal". Retrieved 10 December 2011.
85. ^ DNA correspondent (9 December 2011).  "Anna Hazare blames
Rahul Gandhi for 'ineffective' Lokpal Bill". Retrieved 10
December 2011.
86. ^ "For Rahul Gandhi, poverty is just a state of mind -
Firstpost". www.firstpost.com. Retrieved  23 May  2018.
87. ^ "Rahul Gandhi's 'poverty is a state of mind' remark draws flak".
NDTV. Retrieved  19 June 2015.
88. ^ "Poverty is a state of mind: Rahul Gandhi made economics
irrelevant". One India. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 19 June  2015.
89. ^ Jump up to:a b Prasad Sanyal (27 September 2013). "Rahul Gandhi calls
ordinance on convicted lawmakers 'nonsense'; huge embarrassment
for PM".  NDTV.com.
90. ^ "Rahul Gandhi trashes ordinance, shames government - Times of
India ►". The Times of India. Retrieved  23 May  2018.
91. ^ "SC landmark judgement: Convicted MPs, MLAs must go -
Firstpost". www.firstpost.com. Retrieved  23 May  2018.
 92. ^ Gupta, Smita (24 September 2013). "Ahead of fodder case verdict
comes ordinance to protect lawmakers".  The Hindu.  ISSN  0971-
751X. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
93. ^ "Need to change medieval mindset for empowering women: Rahul
Gandhi". Indian Express. 8 March 2014. Retrieved  6 May 2014.
94. ^ "Rahul Gandhi stresses on women empowerment". Daily News and
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95. ^ "More to poor, women if voted back to power: Rahul
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India. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 6 May  2014.
97. ^ "Lok Sabha fails women again on quota issue". The Times of India.
21 February 2014. Retrieved 6 May  2014.
98. ^ "Agree more with the High Court: Rahul Gandhi on gay
rights". NDTV. 12 December 2013. Retrieved  6 May 2014.
99. ^ "My girlfriend is Spanish: Rahul Gandhi".  The Indian Express. 28
April 2004.
100. ^ "I have a girlfriend in Venezuela: Rahul". The Island. 30 July 2004.
101. ^ No marriage or children for India's Rahul Ghandi? AFP, The
Telegraph, 06 Mar 2013{sic}
102. ^ Sahgal, Priya (14 March 2020). "Natwar Singh Exclusive".  Cover
Story. 20 minutes in.  NewsX.

Further reading
 Sardesai, Rajdeep (2014). 2014: The Election that
Changed India. [Place of publication not identified]:
Penguin Books
India. ISBN 9780143424987. OCLC 921981462. Excerpt
1 and 2.

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 President
Preceded by
Indian National Congress Incumbent
Sonia Gandhi
2017–2019

Lok Sabha

Member of Parliament
Preceded by Succeeded by
for Amethi
Sonia Gandhi Smriti Irani
2004–2019

Member of Parliament
Preceded by
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M. I. Shanavas
2019–present

showAncestors of Rahul Gandhi

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