Despite having all deserving qualities to be the PM of this country through the massive mandate UPA had garnered, Sonia Gandhi had to step back owing to the conspiracy of Sangh Parivar and other opposition parties.

Though she has contributed more to this nation than anyone else, Sonia Gandhi is yet to be accepted as an 'Indian’.

This crisis of identity has transferred from mother to son now. Looks like Rahul Gandhi strongly believes it is inevitable for him to be a brahmin to become the PM of this country and he has even been declaring his gotra and nakshatra etc out in the open stressing on his brahmin identity.

He is even seeking help of brahmin pontiffs too to press the point further.

On the other hand, Sangh Parivar and BJP are going great lengths to prove Rahul is not a brahmin.

Now the moot question is, whether it is inevitable for Rahul to be a brahmin to even qualify to be the PM of India?

Why is he making all these efforts to prove his brahminical qualities? To understand the effect of how casteism is still ruling the mindsets of this nation, Rahul's need to project himself as a brahmin goes a long way in driving the point home.

And with this, Rahul has fallen in the trap laid by Sangh Parivar and other casteist elements.

By trying to prove himself as a brahmin, Rahul seems to have accepted the supremacy of brahmanism and its power to wield political equations.

Rahul Gandhi could have given a powerful repartee to those who sought to know his gotra. He could have extended the context of discussion to bring the issue of caste to the forefront by asking those who pose blocks in allowing a leader like him to enter the temples could be doing worse to the members of lower castes and underprivileged communities.

He could have mounted constructive criticism about the brahmanical hierarchy that exists within BJP and Sangh Parivar. Instead, Rahul is busy proving to people that he is a brahmin too.

This way Rahul has fallen prey to the lies Sangh Parivar has planted among people all this while. How does him being a brahmin increase his eligibility and deserving characters to be the PM of this country?

The pride of the name Nehru is even higher with the secular credentials associated with it, and not because he was a brahmin by caste and birth.  Whatever identity that was his personal one, Nehru surpassed it successfully to be a thorough secular.

Owing to his efforts of building the nation on those very secular values, the country has held its head high among all other nations in the world.

Nehru's family involved all caste identifies within its precincts. Indira Gandhi was denied entry into the temple owing to the fact that she married a Parsi.

But Indians never abandoned Indira Gandhi for that reason. She never set out to prove herself as a hindu or brahmin or some such identity. In some ways, Nehru family represents the country at various levels.

If one asks which community does Rahul belong to, or his faith or that of he is a Muslim; he indeed is everything. He is also a Muslim. He could be a Parsi. All contradictions and diversities are present in Nehru family. Losing out on all these beautiful aspects, Rahul is out to prove himself a brahmin.

This will be a loss to him than a gain. Some elements want to eradicate the diversity of Nehru family and associate mono identity with them that they are brahmins. And those elements have now tasted partial success too.

Being the daughter in law of India, Sonia Gandhi has managed her duties and obligations with utmost integrity. She even lost her husband for the sake of nation. She held the reins of Congress at a time when it was going into splinters.

She tried her best to retain secular credentials within the Congress. Despite being aware of the brahminism that was present in Congress, she successfully surpassed all of them to turn into a true leader. Having sensed Italian roots working against her, she made made a wise decision of not becoming the PM herself but ensuring a statesman and economical expert like Manmohan Singh sat in the chair of PM.

She stood solidly in support of Singh and ensured the govt functioned without any hiccups. Food security bill, employment bill, right to information act all those significant milestones of bills were passed under her watchful guidance.

Yet, Sangh Parivar has been harping on her foreign roots every now and then for its own benefit.  An Rahul Gandhi severe ties with his mother Sonia Gandhi to be a brahmin on identity? Rahul Gandhi's massive advantage is that he is the son of Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi who were able leaders, and grandson of Indira Gandhi, the boldest PM this country saw, and great grandson of Nehru the visionary and secular PM of this nation. The greatest gift he has got is the one that brings him the best of various communities that are part of his family identity. It would be tragic if Rahul restricts himself to one small sub caste or identity of some part of brahmin community for himself. He must understand that the large expanse of this nation itself reflects the identity of his family and he needs to reach people with this as his context and perspective.

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New York (PTI): Adani group founder and chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar have been summoned to explain their stand on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegation of paying USD 265 million (Rs 2,200 crore) in bribes to secure lucrative solar power contracts.

Summons have been sent to Adani's Shantivan Farm residence in Ahmedabad and his nephew Sagar's Bodakdev residence in the same city for a reply to SEC within 21 days.

"Within 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it)...you must serve on the plaintiff (SEC) an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," said a November 21 notice sent through the New York Eastern District Court.

"If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You also must file your answer or motion with the court," it added.

Gautam Adani, 62, and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, allegedly agreed to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years, according to an indictment unsealed in a New York court on Wednesday.

Separate from the indictment brought by the US Department of Justice, the US SEC has also charged the two and Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global, for "conduct arising out of a massive bribery scheme".

The ports-to-energy conglomerate has denied the allegations and said it will seek all possible legal resources.

"The Adani Group has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations. We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation fully compliant with all laws."

An indictment in the US is basically a formal written allegation originating with a prosecutor and issued by a grand jury against a party charged with a crime. A person indicted is given formal notice to reply.

That person or persons can then hire a defence lawyer to defend.

Prosecutors said the investigation started in 2022 and found the inquiry obstructed.

They also allege that the Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies, as well as reports of the bribery probe.

"As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and... lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors," US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement announcing the charges on Wednesday.

"My office is committed to rooting out corruption in the international marketplace and protecting investors from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets."