Why does a motorcycle weigh 100 kg while a car is much heavier at 3,000 kg? Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, currently on a trip to Colombia, posed this question to a packed seminar hall in the Latin American country. But his explanation puzzled the BJP, with a senior leader calling it "gibberish".
Interacting with students at the EIA University, Gandhi asked why a car is usually heavy; why it needs 3,000 kg of metal while a motorcycle is comparatively lighter. "To carry one passenger, you need 3,000 kg of metal in a car, while a 100-kg motorcycle carries two passengers. So why is a motorcycle able to carry two passengers with 150 kg of metal and a car needs 3,000?" asked the Congress MP.
Gandhi claimed this question is central to the transition to electric mobility. Explaining himself, he said the answer lies in the engine. The car engine kills you on impact and the motorcycle is light because its engine flies out during an accident, he explained.
"In a motorcycle, when you have an impact, the engine is separated from you. So, the engine doesn't hurt you. In a car, when you have an impact, the engine comes into the car. So, the car is designed to stop the engine from killing you," Gandhi said.
He suggested that the solution to this car problem is electric mobility. The electric motor breaks that centralised energy system, he said, adding, "The electric motor allows you to put a motor there, and there, and there. So, the electric motor is a decentralization of power. That's really its effectiveness."
The BJP mocked the Congress leader's explanation as "gibberish".
"I haven't heard this much gibberish in one go. If anyone can decode what Rahul Gandhi is trying to say here, I would be glad to be enlightened. But if you are as amused as I am, rest assured, you are not alone," said the BJP's media cell chief Amit Malviya.
Automobile Remark Or Political Jibe?
Right or wrong, Gandhi's remarks appear as a simple automobile problem. But it could also be interpreted as a subtle political comment. Gandhi had made a similar remark back in February, stressing the need to decentralise political power.
"Traditional engines are centralised power sources, but in EVs, power in decentralised - batteries and motors reshape the entire design," he had said, claiming that the world is shifting to a new energy system where electric motors and batteries will be the most crucial technologies.
Decentralisation of power would transform everything - from economy to politics, he had said while interacting with students from Nagaland.
