%26nbsp%3BIt%20was%20in%20the%20summer%20of%201977%2C%20Indira%20Gandhi%20out%20of%20power%2C%20braved%20the%20elements%20and%20her%20opponents%2C%20by%20travelling%20to%20Belchhi%2C%20a%20remote%20village%20in%20the%20heart%20of%20Bihar%20to%20commiserate%20with%20the%20families%20of%20those%20killed%20in%20the%20massacre%20that%20had%20taken%20place%20some%20days%20ago.%20The%20visit%20to%20Belchhi%20was%20the%20beginning%20of%20her%20journey%20to%20political%20redemption.%2043%20years%20later%2C%20her%20grandchildren%2C%20Rahul%20Gandhi%20the%20apple%20of%20her%20eye%20by%20all%20accounts%20and%20his%20sister%20Priyanka%20Gandhi%2C%20considered%20by%20many%20to%20be%20her%20political%20legatee%20undertook%20a%20similar%20journey%2C%20this%20time%20to%20Hathras%20a%20small%20town%20175%20km%20from%20the%20national%20capital.%20The%20Gandhi%20siblings%20wanted%20to%20meet%20with%20the%20family%20of%20the%2019-year-old%20Dalit%20girl%20who%20had%20died%20a%20day%20ago%2C%20following%20her%20brutal%20gang%20rape.
The%20two%20trips%20though%20undertaken%20in%20a%20different%20era%2C%20have%20one%20common%20thread.%20Both%20were%20undertaken%20at%20a%20time%20when%20they%20were%20out%20of%20power.%20Indira%20Gandhi%20successfully%20completed%20her%20trip%20and%20managed%20to%20reach%20the%20remote%20village%2C%20riding%20an%20elephant.%20Rahul%20and%20Priyanka%20were%20not%20just%20prevented%20by%20the%20UP%20Police%20but%20were%20also%20at%20the%20receiving%20end%20of%20its%20high%20handedness%20with%20Rahul%20at%20one%20stage%20being%20pushed%20to%20the%20ground.%20For%20Indira%20Gandhi%2C%20the%20Belchhi%20visit%20was%20to%20mark%20a%20turnaround%20in%20her%20political%20fortunes%2C%20in%20the%20case%20of%20her%20grandchildren%2C%20while%20it%20did%20manage%20to%20the%20turn%20the%20spotlight%20on%20the%20Party%2C%20even%20if%20temporarily%2C%20it%20also%20helped%20the%20Congress%20leaders%20shine%20in%20contrast%20to%20both%20Mayawati%20and%20Akhilesh%20Yadav%20who%20have%20been%20rather%20muted%20in%20the%20response%20to%20the%20Hathras%20gangrape.
The%20Congress%20has%20been%20out%20on%20the%20margins%20in%20UP%20ever%20since%20it%20was%20voted%20out%20of%20power%20in%201990.%20A%20remarkable%20fall%20for%20the%20party%20in%20a%20state%20that%20was%20for%20the%20first%2040%20years%20after%20independence%20considered%20its%20pocket%20borough.%20Priyanka%20Gandhi%20was%20appointed%20general%20secretary%20of%20the%20party%20with%20the%20sole%20intention%20of%20helping%20the%20party%20revive%20in%20the%20state.%20Her%20plunge%20into%20politics%20did%20not%20exactly%20set%20the%20Ganga%20on%20fire%20as%20many%20of%20her%20followers%20thought%20but%20has%20certainly%20brought%20a%20fresh%20sense%20of%20purpose%20and%20life%20into%20the%20moribund%20state%20unit%20of%20the%20party.
She%20has%20taken%20her%20time%20in%20setting%20up%20the%20organisation.%20Bringing%20young%20new%20faces%20but%20also%20taking%20the%20old%20guard%20like%20Salman%20Khurshid%2C%20Pramod%20Tewari%20along.%20One%20of%20the%20traits%20she%20has%20in%20common%20with%20her%20famous%20grandmother%20is%20her%20fighting%20spirit%20and%20a%20refusal%20to%20cow%20down.%20We%20saw%20a%20glimpse%20of%20it%20first%20when%20the%20UP%20administration%20sought%20to%20prevent%20her%20from%20visiting%20the%20victim%20of%20police%20action%20during%20the%20anti%20CAA%20protests%20in%20Lucknow%20and%20yesterday%20on%20the%20Noida%20expressway.
One%20unintended%20consequence%20of%20the%20state%20administration%27s%20high-handed%20response%20may%20have%20also%20been%20the%20traction%20that%20the%20Congress%20garner.%20It%20was%20far%20in%20excess%20of%20any%20of%20its%20interventions%20on%20social%20media.%20Yesterday%u2019s%20developments%20also%20appear%20to%20have%20driven%20home%20the%20point%2C%20that%20ultimately%20political%20battles%20have%20to%20be%20fought%20amongst%20the%20people%20and%20not%20just%20on%20social%20media.%20George%20Fernandes%2C%20one%20of%20the%20heroes%20of%20the%20Opposition%20to%20the%20emergency%20used%20to%20famously%20say%20that%20the%20real%20worth%20of%20an%20opposition%20leader%20can%20be%20gauged%20from%20the%20number%20of%20lathis%20he%20has%20received%20on%20his%20back.%20The%20point%20he%20was%20making%20is%20that%20the%20road%20to%20political%20redemption%20lies%20through%20struggles%20and%20hard%20work.
For%20both%20Rahul%20and%20Priyanka%20Gandhi%2C%20Thursday%20was%20their%20moment%20in%20the%20sun.%20They%20have%20managed%20to%20silence%20their%20critics%20who%20accused%20them%20of%20being%20work%20from%20home%20politicians.%20They%20need%20to%20now%20sustain%20the%20momentum.
%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Hathras%22%20data-user-id%3D%22Dn9xsM7X6Ftn%22%20href%3D%22/topic/hathras%22%3E%23Hathras%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23IndiraGandhi%22%20data-user-id%3D%22G8w7HSdnG7Er%22%20href%3D%22/topic/indira-gandhi%22%3E%23IndiraGandhi%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23RahulGandhi%22%20data-user-id%3D%22kRlIzzDlxJw7%22%20href%3D%22/topic/rahul-gandhi%22%3E%23RahulGandhi%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23PriyankaGandhiVadra%22%20data-user-id%3D%22FLzPqcmdiA7Q%22%20href%3D%22/topic/priyanka-gandhi-vadra%22%3E%23PriyankaGandhiVadra%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Politics%22%20data-user-id%3D%22ODQ1kqHlUPEu%22%20href%3D%22/topic/politics%22%3E%23Politics%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23UttarPradesh%22%20data-user-id%3D%228fpxFfZw7Hfa%22%20href%3D%22/topic/uttar-pradesh%22%3E%23UttarPradesh%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B
