Rahul Gandhi delivered a hard‑hitting speech to a group of young Congress workers, calling those who left the party for bungalows or out of fear of the ED and CBI “lions” who stayed and “cowards” who fled.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the party president, stepped in with a sharp retort, saying the defectors were “your friends,” implying Gandhi’s assessment was off the mark.
Gandhi, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra present, countered by asserting that Jyotiraditya Scindia was not her friend, and recounted an anecdote about Indira Gandhi to illustrate the fickle nature of political alliances.
The exchange unfolded amid a rally where Gandhi warned that the Modi government’s grip is only for eight to ten months and urged youth to prepare for a prolonged confrontation, even suggesting protests at Jantar Mantar.
Sources say the meeting ended with Gandhi stressing ideological consistency over personal credit, and the next step will be a call for a youth‑focused strategy at the forthcoming Congress conference.