AAP raises issues that are close to his heart, says Mahatma’s grandson
Rajmohan Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, who joined the Aam Aadmi Party this week, says he never thought of joining either the Congress or BJP. Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, he said: “Neither did I think of joining Congress or BJP, nor did their leaders ever approach me. But after the AAP was formed, I got deeply inclined towards it and therefore decided to join it.” “I joined the AAP, firstly, because I got an invitation from them. Secondly, I have always been attracted towards the issues the party has raised. Thirdly, the AAP is the only party which is vehemently opposing corruption and doing grassroots politics. All these factors led to my joining the AAP,” said Gandhi.
On whether he could contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Delhi, the 78-year-old said, “I have expressed my desire to contest the elections. Now it is up to the party leadership to decide whether I should contest and from where. Talks are going on this regard, and I will let you know only after a final decision has been taken.”
Sources in the AAP said, “We definitely want Gandhi to contest the Lok Sabha elections. However, talks are going on within the party on his candidature, but they are still at a premature stage.” About fielding Gandhi against BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the source said, “There is no such discussion at the moment. Also, till the time the BJP doesn’t announce from where Modi will be contesting, how can we say who will be fielded against him?” Rajmohan Gandhi was a member of the Rajya Sabha (1990-92) and had led the Indian delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva in 1990. In Parliament, he was the convenor of the all-party joint committee of both houses addressing the condition of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Son of Devdas Gandhi and maternal grandson of C. Rajgopalachari, Rajmohan had contested against former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from Amethi. He is a research scholar at the Centre for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA).