Rahul Gandhi is an Indian Politician hailing from a family of political importance,” Nehru-Gandhi family. He is the president of the Indian National Congress and also serves as the chairperson of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. A Member of Parliament, Rahul represents Amethi Constituency in Lok Sabha. Lets us have a look at the age, family and biography of the politician.
Biography/Wiki
Rahul Gandhi was born on 19 June 1970 (age 54 years; as of 2024) in New Delhi, India. He attended St. Columba’s School in Delhi before entering The Doon School, The Mall Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Later on, Gandhi was home-schooled, along with his sister, Priyanka, due to the Sikh extremism after Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
Rahul Gandhi in his Childhood
He joined St. Stephen’s College, Delhi to attain his graduate degree but moved to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S after giving the first-year examination. In 1991, when Rahul’s father, Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers, he shifted to Rollins College, Florida due to security reasons; used the name “Raul Vinci” to keep his identity a secret. He obtained his Bachelors of Arts from Rollins College in 1994. Gandhi further went on to obtain M.Phil in Economics from Trinity College, Cambridge, England.
Rahul Gandhi during his college days
Rahul burning the pyre of his father
After completing his graduation, Rahul worked at a management consulting firm, Monitor Group, in London, which he considers his first job; he received a pay cheque of around £2500 or £3000 there. Later, in 2002, he became one of the directors of the Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm, Backops Services Private Ltd.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5’ 7”
Weight (approx.): 70 kg
Hair Colour: Dark Brown
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family, Girlfriend & Caste
Rahul Gandhi was born in a Hindu Dattatreya family and identifies himself as a Kashmiri Brahmin. His grandfather, Feroze Gandhi was a Parsi. He is the son of Late Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India and Italy-born Sonia Gandhi, former UPA President. Rahul is the grandson of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. His paternal uncle, Late Sanjay Gandhi, was also a politician. His aunt, Maneka Gandhi, and cousin, Varun Gandhi, are leading politicians in the Bhartiya Janta Party.
Rahul Gandhi with his parents
Rahul Gandhi sitting beside his grandmother Indira Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi
He is the elder brother to Priyanka Vadra who is married to Robert Vadra (a businessman).
Rahul Gandhi with his sister Priyanka
The Gandhi Family Tree
Rahul allegedly dated a Spanish architect, Veronique Cartelli, from Venezuela; whom he met while studying in England.
Rahul Gandhi with his rumoured girlfriend, Veronique Cartelli
Later, he was reported to be dating Noal Zaher, the princess of Afgan.
Rahul Gandhi and Noal Zaher
Career
In March 2014, Rahul marked his entry into politics by contesting the 2004 Lok Sabha elections for the first time from Amethi Constituency, Uttar Pradesh. He portrayed himself as the uniter of the country in his first interview with the foreign media. Rahul won the Lok Sabha elections with a victory margin of over 100,000 votes.
On 24 September 2007, Rahul was appointed as the General Secretary of All India Congress Committee; later, gained the charge of National Student Union of India and Indian Youth Congress.
In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul retained his Amethi seat by defeating his rival by a huge margin. Then, in January 2013, Gandhi was appointed as the vice-president of the Indian National Congress. In the 2014 General Elections, Rahul defeated his opponent, Smriti Irani, to retain his Lok Sabha seat from the Amethi Constituency.
On 11 December 2017, Rahul was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, he won the Wayanad seat but lost Amethi to BJP’s Smriti Irani by a margin of 55,120 votes. Soon after the results of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, he gave his resignation from the post of the President of the Indian National Congress in front of the Congress Working Committee; however, the committee did not accept his resignation.
On 3 July 2019, he quit as Congress chief. In an open letter, he held himself accountable for the 2019 Lok Sabha loss.
Rahul Gandhi’s Resignation Letter As Congress Chief
As a result of his conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case against the ‘Modi surname,’ he was disqualified from serving as a member of the Lok Sabha on 24 March 2023. On 3 April 2023, he was granted bail after he moved an appeal in the Surat Sessions Court challenging his conviction; the court also suspended his sentence till the disposal of his appeal. He contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Wayanad seat in Kerala, winning against CPI’s Annie Raja by a margin of 3,64,422 votes, and the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh, winning against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Dinesh Pratap Singh by a margin of 3,90,030 votes. He retained Rae Bareli’s seat and gave up Wayanad’s seat. Later, Priyanka Gandhi contested from Wayanad’s seat. On 25 June 2024, the Congress party declared him as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha.
Controversies
- Rahul landed in a controversy regarding his M Phil degree from Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. He faced severe criticism when his name did not match with the one mentioned in the official documents.
- He was strongly condemned for his comment- Hindu extremism is more dangerous than Islamic militancy.
- Rahul, along with his friends, has faced allegations for raping a girl in Uttar Pradesh. However, the charges were later dropped by the Supreme Court.
- Rahul, during a rally in Allahabad, said that poverty was only a state of mind. He was deeply criticised for his statement.
- He got arrested on 11 May 2011 for protesting against a highway project along with farmers at Bhatta Parsaul village.
- In 2019, Rahul Gandhi committed contempt to the top court by using the words “chowkidar chor hai” for Narendra Modi. When the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked Gandhi to file an affidavit to apologise for his remarks, Rahul filed two affidavits expressing regret for wrongly attributing the comment to Supreme Court. Later, the apex court granted him another chance to apologise for his remarks and asked him to file a fresh affidavit after which his counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi offered the apology on behalf of Rahul.
- In April 2019, Rahul Gandhi received a notice from the Ministry of Home Affairs asking him to clarify his nationality after the BJP MP Subramanian Swamy alleged that Gandhi is a British National. Swamy cited the documents of the British company, Backops Limited, in which Rahul’s nationality is declared as British. Later, Priyanka Gandhi refuted the allegations and called them baseless.
#WATCH Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on MHA notice to Rahul Gandhi over citizenship, says,” The whole of India knows that Rahul Gandhi is an Indian. People have seen him being born and grow up in India. Kya bakwaas hai yeh?” pic.twitter.com/Rgt457WMoi
— ANI (@ANI) April 30, 2019
- Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, have been named in the National Herald case. Subramanian Swamy filed this case in a trial court in 2012. Swamy claims that the Gandhis took over Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the National Herald publishing house founded by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1937, to try to acquire property assets worth more than 20 billion rupees using party funds. AJL owed Congress an accumulated debt of 900 million rupees when the National Herald was shut down in 2008. The Gandhis established Young India Private Limited in 2010 and assigned the debt owed by AJL to it. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi control 38% each of Young India Private Limited as board members. The remaining 24% is owned by journalists Suman Dubey and Motilal Vora, and entrepreneur Sam Pitroda. Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in June 2022 to explain money laundering allegations.
- In March 2023, he faced backlash from the BJP over his remarks at an event organised by Indian Journalists Association in London that democracy in India was in danger. According to the BJP, Mr. Gandhi allegedly sought foreign intervention in India’s internal matters; however, Mr. Gandhi denied the allegations and said, he never sought foreign intervention to save democracy in the country. In his alleged controversial remarks, Mr. Gandhi said,
The surprising thing is that the so-called defenders of democracy, which are the US, European countries, seem to be oblivious that a huge chunk of democratic model has come undone. The opposition is fighting the battle and it is not an Indian battle alone, actually it is much more of a bigger battle, a battle for a huge part of democratic people.”
- In March 2023, he received a notice from the Delhi police over his ‘women being sexually assaulted’ remarks that he made during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. The police sought information about the “victims” Mr. Gandhi referred to in his remarks. During his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Gandhi said,
women are still being sexually assaulted.”
- On 23 March 2023, he was convicted in the ‘Modi surname’ criminal defamation case by the Surat district court; the court awarded him two years imprisonment; however, he was later granted bail by the court. Purnesh Modi, a BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister, filed the case against Mr. Gandhi in April 2019 over his remark that “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?;” Rahul Gandhi said this while addressing a poll rally in Karnataka on 13 April 2019 during the general elections. According to Purnesh Modi, Rahul Gandhi defamed the entire Modi community. Later, Sushil Kumar Modi, a senior BJP leader in Bihar and Rajya Sabha MP, also filed a defamation suit against Rahul Gandhi in connection with Mr. Gandhi’s “Modi surname” remark in Patna’s Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court following which the court summoned Rahul Gandhi to appear before it on 12 April 2023 to provide his statement. Rahul Gandhi filed an appeal against his conviction on 3 April 2023, after which the Surat court granted him bail and suspended his sentence pending his appeal. Two applications accompanied the appeal, the first was for Suspension of Sentence, which is essentially an application for bail, and the second was for Suspension of Conviction. Surat Sessions Court rejected his plea for a stay in his conviction on 20 April 2023. On 2 May 2023, the Gujarat High Court rejected his request for an interim stay of the conviction in the Modi Surname case; Rahul Gandhi had approached the high court, seeking an interim stay on his conviction till the court pronounced the order on his petition. Subsequently, lawyer Pradip Modi lodged a defamation lawsuit in Ranchi, and on 4 July 2023, the Jharkhand High Court issued a directive stating that no forceful measures should be employed against Rahul Gandhi until the court reaches a decision on the Congress leader’s plea requesting exemption from appearing in person. On 7 July 2023, Justice Hemant Prachchhak of the Gujarat High Court, while delivering the verdict, denied any request to suspend his conviction. On 4 August 2023, his conviction was stayed by the Supreme Court of India after he moved to the apex court on 15 July 2023.
- Rahul faced controversy for offering a party worker a biscuit rejected by a puppy in Jharkhand during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in February 2024. This act was criticized by many including Himanta Biswa Sarma, who recalled leaving Congress after a similar incident involving Rahul’s pet Pidi.
Pallavi ji, not only Rahul Gandhi but the entire family could not make me eat that biscuit. I am a proud Assamese and Indian . I refused to eat and resign from the Congress. https://t.co/ywumO3iuBr
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 5, 2024
- On 7 June 2024, he appeared before a special court in Bengaluru in connection with a defamation case filed by the Karnataka unit of the BJP against the publication of advertisements in newspapers labelling the BJP as corrupt during the 2023 Legislative Assembly polls campaign in Karnataka; the court granted him bail.
- While delivering his first speech as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, he was accused of calling the Hindus violent by the BJP. The BJP condemned his comment and said he should tender an apology.
- Rahul was criticised by the Indians and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in September 2024 when he issued a statement regarding the “existential crisis” faced by the Sikhs living in India. The BJP also staged a protest outside Sonia‘s residence. He further received backlash after his statement was endorsed by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a wanted Khalistani terrorist. He later held a meeting with the US politician Ilhan Omar who is known to have made many speeches against India. For this, he also received criticism. Thereafter, he, during a speech at the Georgetown University, claimed that the Congress would end the reservation system in India once “India become fairer.” He then apologised and clarified that his statement was taken out of context.
Rahul Gandhi with Ilhan Omar (second from the right)
Signature
Rahul Gandhi’s Signature
Salary
He receives Rs. 1 lakh + other allowances as a Member of Parliament.
Assets/Properties
Movable
- Bank deposits – Rs. 26.25 lakh
- Mutual funds deposits – Rs. 3.81 crore
- Stock market investments – Rs. 4.3 crore
- Gold bonds – Rs. 15.2 lakh
- National Savings Schemes, Postal Savings, insurance policies – Rs. 61.52 lakh
Immovable
- Agricultural land, owned jointly with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in Delhi’s Mehrauli, along with office space in Gurugram – Rs. 11 crore
Income
While filing his nomination for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Waynad, he declared his total income as Rs. 1,02,78,680 during the financial year 2022-23.
Net Worth
His total net worth was estimated to be around Rs. 20 crore in April 2024.
Facts
- Rahul Gandhi follows a non-vegetarian diet. Noodles, Seafood, Chicken Tikka, Chicken Kebab, Omelette, and Coastal Indian Dishes are his favourite dishes. He doesn’t like jackfruit and peas, and his favourite eating zones are Moti Mahal in Delhi, Sagar, Swagat, and Sarvana Bhavan.
- Rahul is the great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.
- He resides at 12, Tughlak Lane, New Delhi.
- His blood group is B (-ve).
- Reading, travelling, Scuba diving, and free diving are some of his recreational activities.
- He is a black belt in Aikido, a modern Japanese martial art.
- He is profoundly inspired by his father, Rajiv Gandhi and great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Rahul Gandhi with his father Rajiv Gandhi
- Rahul is often trolled on the Social Media by the name Pappu. The former cabinet minister Venkaiah Naidu once addressed him “Pappu Ji”.
- Rahul was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress in December 2017. Interestingly, he remained unopposed.
- Once, while he was on a visit to Singapore in 2018, a journalist questioned him about the developments in India during the Congress’ regime.
- On 21 July 2018, he left everyone surprised when, after fiercely criticizing the BJP government, he walked across the treasury bench and hugged PM Narendra Modi. Moreover, a few moments later, Rahul even winked at one of his party colleagues.
- On 9 August 2023, Rahul attracted criticism in a Lok Sabha no-confidence motion debate when he allegedly blew a flying kiss to the treasury benches booing him as he left after his speech. Smriti Irani labelled this as a misogynistic act; however, DCW chief Swati Maliwal countered Smriti’s criticism on X (formally Twitter), questioning her silence on Brij Bhushan‘s alleged harassment of Indian Olympic wrestlers.
Absolutely shameful conduct by Rahul Gandhi, who blew a ‘flying kiss’ on his way out of the Parliament, gesturing towards a lady MP…
Absolutely sickening.
This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi has displayed such disgusting behaviour. Earlier he was seen winking and throwing… pic.twitter.com/8YhhZaWmob
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 9, 2023
- He loves dogs and often spends time playing with his pet dogs.
Rahul Gandhi’s Instagram post about his pet dog Yassa
- Several reports emerged on social media claiming Rahul to get married to Praniti Shinde, an INC MP, in September 2024. It was also speculated that the duo were in a romantic relationship since they were seen marching together during the Bharat Jodo Yatra while holding hands.
Rahul and Praniti holding hands during the march
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education