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HomePoliticsOne-liners, facts, passion — Pawan Khera emerges as new-style 'aggressive' Congressman on...

One-liners, facts, passion — Pawan Khera emerges as new-style ‘aggressive’ Congressman on TV

Pawan Khera’s TV appearances have been going viral for his aggressive and passionate style and rhetoric. Congress leaders say others should follow suit.

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New Delhi: Over a year ago, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera created space for himself in online popular culture when he held his palm against his forehead on live television as BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain answered a question on the crisis-hit economy. 

Hussain was asked about Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s limited cash-in-hand to pay salaries. He replied, “We are a cashless economy, so why do you want cash in hand?”

— Akash Banerjee (@TheDeshBhakt) January 7, 2019

Khera’s reaction in that moment — part amusement and part disbelief at his colleague’s ignorance of a standard accounting term — has since become immortalised, as a ‘meme’. Now, whenever the ruling party’s leaders make gaffes, this meme floods social media. 

This moment came early in Khera’s tenure as party spokesperson. He had been named as one only in December 2018 — a month before the incident. Over a relatively short period of time, Khera has emerged as social media’s favourite ‘slayer’ of the BJP’s narrative on TV debates, with several viral clips.

In the last few months, he has looked to teach BJP spokespersons history, questioned them on their diversion tactics, raised issues of importance to the country and his party, and maintained an ‘aggressive’ posture while doing all of this. He has even questioned news anchors on their perceived sense of bias towards the ruling party. 

This brand of defence for Congress — a party in dire straits amid internal challenges and poll defeats — has forced its supporters to seek more clones of Khera as the party tries to take on the poll monolith BJP.

But the ruling BJP says these aggressive counters don’t much threaten its position. 


Also read: Priyanka Gandhi to move to Lucknow after vacating govt bungalow in Delhi: Congress leaders


China, Pakistan and history lessons

In recent weeks, Pawan Khera’s aggression on TV debates has centred on the India-China stand-off. 

During a TV debate last week, he said, “Hum inse seemao pe poochte hai, yeh humse ladne aa jaate hain. Arre cheen se ladiye na, Congress se ladne ke liye poore 4 saal pade hain, hum bhi lad lenge (We ask them about the situation at the borders, and they start fighting with us. Fight with China, you have 4 years remaining to fight Congress. We will also fight then).”

In another debate after the Narendra Modi government banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, Khera came up with a striking catchphrase: “Humla map pe ho raha hai, badla app pe ho raha hai (The attack is happening on the map, it is being avenged through apps).”

But it’s not just rhetoric or catchy one-liners that he provides, Khera also likes to throw in a history lesson here and there.

In the debate on the app ban, he reminded the anchor of the 1971 victory against Pakistan under then PM Indira Gandhi, arguing that while the BJP is quick to tell people of India’s 1962 loss against China, they forget about this.

Speaking to ThePrint, Khera said, “I have always been an avid reader of history books, of international relations books. Fortunately, that really comes handy (before the debates). All we need to do is to brush up our history and arm ourselves with facts.” 

His favourite history nugget from his debates, which he has repeated more than once, is to remind the BJP and its ideological parent, the RSS, of their link with the Muslim League.

“History doesn’t start where you want it to start from… history also starts from when Hindu Mahasabha’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Muslim League formed governments together in West Bengal and Sindh,” Khera said in the debate last week.

“When they keep saying the Congress party is responsible for the partition of India, it’s important to be able to puncture their fictitious narratives. The problem is that they have started taking their own WhatsApp rumours seriously,” Khera told ThePrint.


Also read: Congress puts up grand digital show as DK Shivakumar officially takes over as Karnataka chief


Khera’s past and present with Congress

Pawan Khera started out with the youth wing of the Congress back in 1989, but left the party after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991. He then found his way back to the Congress in 1998 as then Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s political secretary — a post he held until her term came to an end in 2013.

Since 2015, he has been representing the party on panel discussions and debates on television. In 2018, he was also made the convenor of a poll committee prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

While he has been appearing in TV debates for some time now, his aggression has turned up a notch lately.

“Something inside me has changed, I feel upset and angry over the rampant misinformation, the hate. It needs to be countered more ferociously today than ever,” Khera said. “Our narrative suffers if we keep silent. We don’t have to be apologetic about being secular and liberal, we have to own it.”

On his passionate outbursts and aggression, Khera said he “doesn’t know any other way”.

“It comes naturally to me. I cannot make a point unless I am passionate about it. Maybe, I held myself back earlier and was more careful. But there is no other way now,” Khera said.

His passionate arguments on TV debates haven’t just earned him applause by social media commentators, but also among his partymen. 

Last week, Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh tweeted congratulations to Khera. “You are in great form these days,” he wrote.

Some have even made appeals to the leader to start a YouTube channel “to counter the propaganda”.

Khera said he is humbled by the suggestion, but it wouldn’t be “the right thing to do”.

“This is where we get confused. It’s never about the individuals. It’s about the greater message. It’s about the need to reclaim the narrative,” he said.


Also read: Amit Shah, Nirmala, Smriti Irani — BJP pulls out the big guns to take on Mamata in Bengal


Calls for his ‘clone’

Amid this appreciation for his increasingly popular style, there is also a conversation around the Congress’ need to “clone Khera” — a reflection of the dearth of hard-hitting spokespersons in the party. 

Party leaders say the reception to Khera’s videos reveals how other spokespersons too need to adopt a more aggressive approach. 

“Each of us who has ever appeared on a TV debate with a BJP spokesperson has realised that we need a certain rhetoric, a certain aggression to counter them. It cannot be done with a mild-mannered approach,” said a Congress leader on condition of anonymity.

While Khera is one of the newer party spokespersons, more senior ones like Randeep Surjewala and Abhishek Manu Singhvi have been around for many years now, attempting to put up a defence to Congress’ policies in the UPA era, and now countering the BJP’s.

However, their rhetoric has rarely ever struck a chord in this manner.

“It is true that some of our senior spokespersons’ debating skills may come across as repetitive, or even monotonous. But that’s also because the senior leaders have to be more careful, they can take fewer risks on live TV,” said the leader.

The difference is also a result of how much aggression a senior party person can “afford” to show, the leader said.

“A Pawan Khera would face a Sambit Patra. But an Abhishek Manu Singhvi would face someone more senior like a Ravi Shankar Prasad. So the mannerisms and aggression will have to be restrained.”

A second leader pointed out that Khera doesn’t just counter the BJP spokespersons’ position effectively, but also often calls out the ‘bias’ of the moderator.

“It upsets me when I see certain TV channel anchors crawling like this. I would have been equally as upset if this happened during Congress’ rule. This is not how democracies work,” Khera said.

‘Congress shouldn’t take consolation in these videos’

However, BJP leaders who have participated in these debates with Khera say this strategy is likely to “backfire”.

“I think it is a very counter-productive strategy. Especially at a time when there is a stand-off with China, to engage in debating in heightened volumes doesn’t make sense,” BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal said.

Mittal, however, acknowledged that many of these videos — particularly those of Khera, have been going viral.

“Things go viral for a lot of reasons. Sometimes they go viral when people want to make fun of you too. So it would be really sad if the Congress party is taking consolation in these videos gaining some traction,” he said.


Also read: Scindia prevails as 12 of his loyalists become part of Madhya Pradesh cabinet


 

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11 COMMENTS

  1. Maybe Pavan Khera could fight for next prime ministerial candidate for congress in next election, if congress at all existing by then or could change his name to Pavan Gandhi for a secured future in congress, or could submit to BJP or PM Modi and confess all his mistakes of derogatory comments and see if at all, our honourable PM forgives him.

  2. If Rahul can answer all his questions..or my questions…I don’t mind voting for Cong for ,50 yrs probably this man has failed to understand that sonia..Rahul .priyanka..and most of their politicians are illitrates & corrupt goons…

  3. Smt Fatima Khan may get all excited by the debating skills of Shri Khera. She might also be impressed by the recent interviewing skills of Shri Rahul Gandhi. Unfortunately for her, the voting public looks at other things while casting their votes.

  4. The person talks unrealistic. He definitely reads a lot to talk but he shld know that facts that there are no facts in his talks but interpretations which r illogical.

  5. Ha Ha. Clutching at straws after sacking Sanjay Jha. Now only if Pawan Khera can win elections the way he seems to win shouting matches on TV. Truly the ruling junta has nothing to fear.

  6. If one talks irrelevantly every one gets scared. Why he has not raked.up our.land grabbed by China in 1962 and no action thereafter. China is crossing that border now and our valiant soldiers retorting. Earlier when they were inching forward further we used to welcome with open arms and shamelessly announced in.parliament about grabbing 78000 sq.kms land and building up projects.

    • Thank God!
      The present strength of army is not attributed to this govt.
      The present capabilities of army is the result of years of contribution of previous govts.
      After the humiliating defeat in1962, indian army improved dramatically.
      Even 1967, Indian military, overcoming the loss in 1962, had dealt a severe blow to PLA in Nathu La sector that resulted in death of 400 chineese soldiers. In the same year, another clash at Cho La china lost 340 soldiers ( India lost 88 army personnel)But it was neither debated.
      (Courtesy ” Economic Times” dt july, 12, 2018 Please read)
      But there was no chest thumping as is done now)
      Why harp on 1962 only. Why can’t we feel proud for 1965, 1971 and Kargil wars? 1971 war is truly historical in the sense that it changed the geography of Pakisthan and 70 K Pakisthan soldiers surrendered.
      No chest thumping.
      Lot of misinformation and motivated propaganda is made to distort history

  7. I like Khera. But he should remind himself that during discussions on English channels he should not revert to Hindi which I do not know at all.English channels are meant to be in English only although many present themselves in Hindi for their illiteracy in English which is not the case with Khera

  8. What is left to fight against Cong… Rahul ? Rather make more clones of him which may be amusing to the mass. Remain secular and blabber about it .. the message is already propagated.
    Ladte hi nahi Cong.. sabut mangne aa jate hai turant. Kabhi apna janam ka bi sabut BJP aur Govt se mangenge.
    China – India stand off is not about maps or apps but now reduced to anatomical gaps – cong and stooges are proving.

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