Make lasting contribution to be remembered: TJS George to leaders

BENGALURU: Veteran journalist and author TJS George on Saturday said that the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi “will be irrelevant” in the next few years. At a panel discussion on his recent book The Dismantling of India in 35 Portraits at the Bangalore Literature Festival 2022, George was asked if he had revised his critical view of Rahul after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, to which he replied: “No, I don’t think he [Rahul] will matter at all. He will become ultimately irrelevant in a short period of time.”

Similarly, he felt that “great leaders of our country”, including PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and former PM Indira Gandhi will also be irrelevant in a few decades. “Fifty years from now, I don’t think Indira or even the people currently in power will matter. Unless leaders make a lasting contribution to history, they won’t be remembered.

People might not remember the PM or home minister,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any question about the contributions that people like JRD Tata or Annadurai made to the country. But talking about the people you mentioned [Modi and Shah], I don’t think they have made any lasting contributions,” he said.

Asked about the softer approach he took towards ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee compared to Modi, he said Vajpayee rose above his party, unlike Modi.