INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
New Delhi:
Rahul Gandhi today served his critics something to snigger about as he told a large gathering
in Delhi that the founder of Coca-Cola started by selling "shikanji" or lemonade and McDonalds was born from a dhaba."Who started Coca-Cola
company Do you know I will tell you who," the Congress president said as he addressed his party's convention for backward castes at an
indoor stadium."Coca-Cola wala America mein shikanji bechta tha (The man who started Coca Cola sold shikanji in the US)
He sold sugar mixed in water
His skill was recognised and rewarded," he said.Warming up to his theme, he also said, "You know McDonald's
Who started it He ran a dhaba (food joint) but we all have seen the brand's progress
You show me one person who runs a dhaba and has sent up a Coca-Cola in India
Ford was a mechanic, so was Honda."Where, he questioned, are these people in India"It's not that we don't have talent, knowledge, power,
abilitybut we don't have banks willing to help, offer loans
The government isn't supportive."Coca-Cola was founded by American pharmacist John Pemberton in 1886 when he prepared a soda-fountain
beverage which later became the world famous cola drink.McDonald's was set up in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald
The couple first opened a hot dog stand in 1937 in California before growing into a chain that is present in 100 countries.Rahul Gandhi used
the anecdotes to target the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing them of benefiting a handful of industrialists
"The BJP's strategy is clear
15-20 rich capitalists will give thousands of crores to PM Modi and all benefits will go to just those 15-20 rich people."As expected, the
Coca-Cola-shikanji story was too delicious for Twitter to pass up
Soon, the hashtag #AccordingToRahulGandhi was trending and the Congress chief was being trolled.One Twitter user sad the Congress IT cell
had edited the Coca-Cola founder's Wikipedia page to "prove" the party chief correct.Rahul Gandhi faced similar derision over a comment he
made in 2013 to a gathering of Dalits.He was explaining that Dalits have to fight harder to get ahead, when he used the analogy of
Jupiter."There is a concept called escape velocity in aeronautics
From Earth, your velocity has to be 11 km a secondIf you are on Jupiter, you need to go at 60 km per hour.In India, Dalits need Jupiter's
escape velocity on Earth," he said, perhaps losing many in his audience during the explanation.
