Barack Obama writes 'Rahul Gandhi eager to impress, but lacks aptitude', in new book

As Congress stares at a dismal performance in the recently concluded Bihar election, several critics have opined on Rahul Gandhi's 'lacklustre' performance, as the Congress managed to win mere 19 of the 70 seats it contested, pulling down the Mahagathbandhan. But, Rahul Gandhi now faces a stinging critique from former US President Barack Obama in his new book- 'A Promised Land' which hit bookshelves, earlier this week. The 44th US President has opined on Gandhi and former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh.

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Obama on Rahul Gandhi

According to a book review by the New York Times, Obama has opined on the Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi stating, "Rahul Gandhi has a nervous, unformed quality about him, as if he were a student who’d done the coursework and was eager to impress the teacher but deep down lacked either the aptitude or the passion to master the subject”. He has also opined on Dr. Singh as a 'someone having a kind of impassive integrity'. Apart from these Indian politicians, Obama has reportedly described Russsian President Vladimir Putin reminding him of 'the street-smart bosses who used to run Chicago at one point in time'.

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Obama's new book

The book - 'A promised Land' is an autobiography by Obama which is 'more political than personal', as per NYT's review. The book is reportedly is a harsh self-assessment by Obama of his Presidential tenure and his life including his first stirring of social awareness in his teenage years. talking about his VP and the current US President-elect Joe Biden, Obama writes, " a decent, honest, loyal man who might get prickly if he thought he wasn’t given his due — a quality that might flare up when dealing with a much younger boss." Obama has authored several other books including 'Dreams from My Father', 'The Audacity of Hope', and 'Change we can Believe in'.

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Congress president saga

Congress has been in a leadership dilemma since Rahul Gandhi quit as party chief in the post-Lok Sabha 2019 debacle. This led to a barrage of resignations from posts like Milind Deora, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Priyanka Chaturvedi and many more. Amidst a lot of turmoil with Priyanka Vadra too being considered, Congress finally went back to their safe option and named Sonia Gandhi as its interim chief. Recently, her tenure was again extended after 23 leaders sought structural changes in the party, but were shut down by the party's 'Core committee'. Most leaders have time and again implored the 50-year-old Rahul Gandhi to take back the reins of the party, but he has not budged.

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