Wikipedia

Rahul Gandhi

Indian politician (born 1970)

Rahul Gandhi (born 19 June 1970) is politician and member of the political party Indian National Congress. His great-grandfather was Jawaharlal Nehru, who was India's first Prime-Minister.[1] His grandmother was Indira Gandhi who was India's first woman Prime Minister.[1] His father Rajiv Gandhi was India's youngest Prime Minister.[2] He is the chief of the Indian National Congress. He also heads the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India.[3] He is a former member of the Indian Parliament and represented Amethi, Uttar Pradesh in the 16th Lok Sabha.[4]

Rahul Gandhi
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
4 June 2024
Preceded byM. I. Shanavas
ConstituencyWayanad, Kerala
Assumed office
17 May 2004
Preceded bySonia Gandhi
Succeeded bySmriti Irani
ConstituencyAmethi, Uttar Pradesh
President of the Indian National Congress
In office
16 December 2017 – 10 August 2019
Preceded bySonia Gandhi
Succeeded bySonia Gandhi (Interim)
Vice-President of the Indian National Congress
In office
19 January 2013 – 16 December 2017
PresidentSonia Gandhi
Preceded byJitendra Prasada
Succeeded byPost Vacant
General Secretary of Indian National Congress
In office
25 September 2007 – 19 January 2013
PresidentSonia Gandhi
Chair of Indian Youth Congress
In office
25 September 2007 – 17 December 2017
Preceded byPosition established
Chair of National Students’ Union of India
Assumed office
25 September 2007
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born (1970-06-19) 19 June 1970 (age 54)
New Delhi, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
Parents[[Rajiv Gandhi ]]
Sonia Gandhi
RelativesNehru–Gandhi family
EducationUniversity of Delhi
Harvard University
Rollins College (BA)
Trinity College, Cambridge (MPhil)
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

Gandhi completed his primary education in New Delhi and Dehradun.[5] After his father became the Prime Minister, he was taught at home because of security problems.[6] He studied at Rollins College under an assumed name.[7] Later, he also attended Cambridge.[8]

Gandhi entered politics in 2004 and won the elections from Amethi. Amethi is a constituency that was earlier held by his father.[9] He won both the 2009 and 2014 elections from the same constituency.[10] [11]He became the General Secretary of the Congress in 2007 and was elected Vice-President of the party in 2013.[12] Gandhi led the Indian National Congress campaign for the 2014 Indian general elections. The party suffered its worst defeat in that election. It won only 44 seats.[13]

On 23 March 2023, Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment by a court in Surat, Gujarat, under charges of defamation because of remarks he had made against Narendra Modi during the 2019 Indian general election campaign. On 24 March 2023, he was disqualified by the Lok Sabha speaker from the membership of the Parliament. The notification issued stated he was an Ex-MP and said that he was disqualified under Article 102 of the Constitution. On 4 August, Gandhi's conviction was stayed by the Supreme Court of India pending appeal.[14]

Early life

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Rahul Gandhi was born in Panjab region on 19 June 1970.[15] He was the first of the two children of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. His family is well known for having a special place in Indian politics. His father later became the Prime Minister of India. His mother became the President of the Indian National Congress. His paternal grandfather Feroze Gandhi was a Zorostrian from Gujarat.[16] Priyanka Vadra is his younger sister[17] and Robert Vadra is his brother-in-law. He identifies himself as a Hindu.[18]

Rahul Gandhi attended St. Columba's School, Delhi.[19] He studied at The Doon School in Dehradun, Uttarakhand from 1981 to 1983. Due to the security threats faced by the family from Sikh warriors after Indira Gandhi's assassination, he was later home-schooled.[20]

Rahul Gandhi joined Guru Nanak College, Delhi in 1989 for his undergraduate education.[21] However, he moved to Harvard University after he completed the first year examinations. In 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers.[22] After the assassination, Rahul Gandhi shifted to Rollins College in Florida, USA, due to security problems.[23] While he was at Rollins College, he used Raul Vinci as his name. His real name was known only to a few university officials and security agencies.[21][24] He later studied at Trinity College Cambridge.[25]

After graduation, Rahul Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm, in London.[26] In 2002, he became one of the directors of Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm Backops Services Private Ltd.[27] In 2004, Gandhi had told the press that he had a Spanish girlfriend who was an architect. He had met her while studying in England.[28][29] In 2013, he suggested that he may not get married.[30]

Political Career

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Rahul Gandhi's political career started in March 2004 when he said that he would become a candidate for the Amethi region for the elections held in India in May 2004. The Amethi region had earlier been held by his father, Rajiv Gandhi and then his mother Sonia Gandhi, who later chose another region to become a candidate from.


The "Pappu" nickname for Rahul Gandhi originated from a popular Indian comedy show, "Comedy Nights with Kapil," where a character named Pappu was portrayed as a dim-witted and immature person. The nickname stuck and has been used by Gandhi's critics to imply that he lacks leadership qualities and maturity.[31]

Despite the nickname, Rahul Gandhi has maintained a strong presence in Indian politics. He has been a vocal critic of the BJP government and has led several campaigns and initiatives, including the "Bharat Jodo Yatra," a cross-country march aimed at uniting the country and highlighting issues such as unemployment, inflation, and social inequality.

Gandhi's supporters argue that the "Pappu" nickname is an unfair and biased label, and that he has demonstrated leadership skills and a commitment to social justice and equality.

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "BBC News | WORLD | Indira Gandhi 'greatest woman'". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  2. ↑ "The Deseret News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  3. ↑ "Rahul Gandhi Takes Over As Congress Chief; New Start, Say Party Leaders". NDTV. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  4. ↑ Bal, Hartosh Singh (15 December 2017). "The Troubled Rise of Rahul Gandhi". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Unplugged: Rahul Gandhi - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  6. ↑ Hazarika, Sanjoy; Times, Special to The New York (1989-07-16). "Foes of Gandhi Make Targets of His Children". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  7. ↑ "Rahul completed education in US under a false name". DNA India. 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  8. ↑ "Detailed Profile: Shri Rahul Gandhi". archive.india.gov.in. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "Rahul attacks 'divisive' politics". 2004-04-12. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  10. ↑ May 18, TNN | Updated; 2009; Ist, 4:34. "Sonia secures biggest margin, Rahul follows | Lucknow News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-04-26. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ "Constituency Wise Detailed Result" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  12. ↑ "Rahul Gandhi gets Congress post". 2007-09-24. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  13. ↑ "After its worst defeat ever in Lok Sabha elections, what can Congress do to recover?". DNA India. 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  14. ↑ NETWORK, LIVELAW NEWS (2023-08-04). "Rahul Gandhi's Conviction Stayed - LIVE UPDATES From Supreme Court". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  15. ↑ "Detailed Profile: Shri Rahul Gandhi". India.gov.in. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  16. ↑ Bhatt, Sheela (April 12, 2012). "'As Feroze Gandhi's grandson, Rahul should project himself as a Gujarati'". Rediff.com. New Delhi.
  17. ↑ M. V. Kamath. "Does Congress want to perpetuate Nehru-Gandhi dynasty?". Samachar. Archived from the original on 28 October 2006. Retrieved 9 February 2007.
  18. ↑ "I'm a Brahmin & Congress's general secretary: Rahul Gandhi to party". The Times of India. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  19. ↑ "Unplugged: Rahul Gandhi – The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  20. ↑ Sanjay Hazarika (16 July 1989). "Foes of Gandhi make targets of his children". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Rahul completed education in US under a false name – India – DNA. Daily News and Analysis. (30 April 2009). Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  22. ↑ "The accused, the charges, the verdict". Frontline. 7 February 2010. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  23. ↑ "Newsweek apologises to Rahul Gandhi". The Indian Express. 27 January 2007.
  24. ↑ A Question Of TheHeir & Now. Outlook India. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  25. ↑ "Cambridge varsity confirms Rahul's qualifications". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  26. ↑ "The Great White Hope: The Son Also Rises". Rediff. 13 April 2004.
  27. ↑ "Want to be CEO of Rahul Gandhi's firm?". Rediff. 24 June 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "My girlfriend is Spanish: Rahul Gandhi". The Indian Express. 28 April 2004. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  29. ↑ "I have a girlfriend in Venezuela: Rahul". The Island. 30 July 2004. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  30. ↑ No marriage or children for India's Rahul Ghandi? AFP, The Telegraph, 06 Mar 2013 {sic}
  31. ↑ Яцко, М. В. (2023-04-29). "Дистанційне навчання, Google calendar, Google Slides, Google Docs, Google Chat". OPEN SCIENCE OF UKRAINE. 2023 (4). doi:10.59948/osou4.2023.02.

Further reading

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Other websites

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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Rahul Gandhi
 
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Party political offices
Preceded by
Sonia Gandhi 		President
Indian National Congress
2017–present 		Incumbent
Lok Sabha
Preceded by
Sonia Gandhi 		Member of Parliament
Amethi
2004-present 		Incumbent


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