Will obey whatever Cong orders: Rahul
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has, for the first time, indicated that he is ready to take up the responsibility of being named the party’s prime ministerial candidate.
“I am a soldier of the Congress. I will obey whatever order is given to me. I will do whatever Congress wants me to do... Decisions are taken in our party by senior leaders,” he told Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar in a rare interview.
The remarks assume significance coming ahead of the January 17 All India Congress Committee (AICC) session during which the 43- year- old is widely expected to be named as the party’s PM candidate for the Lok Sabha elections due this summer.
The Rahul- for- PM chorus has been growing louder, with senior ministers, party leaders and workers pushing for the announcement.
“Power is poison is an observation that when power comes how to deal with the threats that come with it. ....( it) does not mean that I am not keen to take responsibility. There is no word of reluctance in my life... Congress has never been specific. Whatever tasks the Congress wanted me to accomplish, I have done that,” Gandhi said when asked if he was ready to take up the country’s top job and his perceived image of a reluctant politician.
Gandhi also sought to put an end to speculation surrounding his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra whose presence at recent party meetings created a stir. “Priyanka is my sister and friend. Besides she is an active member of the Congress and that is why she is lending a helping hand to strengthen me and the organisation. I do not think she will have any electoral role,” he said.
Gandhi’s remarks were immediately endorsed by party colleagues but evoked a sharp criticism from the BJP.
“We want him as the prime ministerial candidate. There are no two opinions about it,” senior Congress leader Ambika Soni said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said Rahul was being named PM candidate only because he was a Gandhi. It was only in the BJP that a person born into a humble tea vendor’s family would be promoted to be the prime minsterial candidate of the nation because of his hard work and record of good governance, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said in an obvious reference to Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.