Why was Rahul missing?

A few years ago, a friend went to Yangon (Rangoon), Mayanmar (Burma) for some work. He took a room at a Guest House in the downtown area. When he began interacting with the Indian community there for his business, they would ask him where he was staying. “Garden Guest House”, he would say. “Oh! The same place where Rahul stays everytime.” When he got this response more than once, he was puzzled and decided to ask a respectable businessman what the whole story was. Garden Guest House is a modest budget bed and breakfast place. Why would Rahul Gandhi stay there instead of a proper hotel?

Mayanmar is a country that was run by military junta until recently. The authorities were so strict that a guest could not stay overnight in anybody’s house without permission. They would keep a close track of how many people stay on each street and there would be random checking for verification. The society there is almost entirely isolated from the rest of the world. No outside books are allowed. The banking sector had collapsed long back and there are no ATMs; whatever money they need, visitors have to carry in cash. If Rahul had been coming to Mayanmar, it certainly made for a curious case because there was no news of these trips back in India.

The businessman said that Rahul is a frequent visitor to the city but that he comes without his security cover or an announcement in the media. When the local authorities found out that he had come once, they contacted the Indian Embassy if they should provide security to the Indian Member of Parliament. They were told to mind their own business and let him be on his own. The entire locality knows that whenever Rahul arrives, he is accompanied by a different Polynesian female companion.

If Rahul does come to Yangon on a vacation, he can well stay in the up-market Traders Hotel which is right next to Garden Guest House. But then he might be spotted by Indian businessmen who often stay there. Mayanmar is a good choice as a secret getaway also because news doesn’t travel there - there is no media. The only newspaper is run by the government.

Rahul Gandhi has been forced to become a public figure but there is a lot about his private activities that invites suspicion. He travels abroad 70 times a year which is not necessarily suspicious but that he travels on a different passport Dubai onwards certainly is. His regular drug abuse is also a well kept secret. The news being circulated is that he was missing from PM Manmohan Singh’s farewell because he was out of the country, while the truth is that he was out of his senses, high on cocaine.

It appeared inevitable till a few years ago that he would be India’s PM one day. But that was before he began opening his mouth to speak. With the right surname, a pedigree like his, and the best spokespersons of the Congress Party eulogizing him publicly, how badly would Rahul have to play his part to mess it up. And India is thankful to him for being himself.

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