Kochi ( Kerala): Rahul Gandhi on Thursday had a piece of advice for the potential candidates that the post of Congress president represented a certain Idea of India and that they were about to take a historic position.
“My advice to the candidates would be that you are taking a historic position. The post of Congress president defines a particular view of India. Congress president’s post is not only a post but it represents a certain belief system. The Congress president represents a set of ideas and a certain vision of India,” Rahul said at a press conference at Kochi in Kerala.
Ahead of the polls, the issue of one-person one-post is being discussed within the Congress as there are reports that Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot is ready to be party president but wants to retain his chair as Rajasthan chief minister.
The principle is part of the organizational reforms mentioned in the Udaipur Declaration, which was approved after serious debates to prepare a roadmap for the future. The nationwide yatra too was decided at the three days strategy session in Udaipur from May 13-15. “I expect the Congress party to honour the Udaipur Declaration,” said Rahul, in a hint that Gehlot may have to quit the CM’s chair.
"What we decided at Udaipur, we expect that commitment to be maintained," Rahul said on being asked whether he would stand by the Udaipur chintan shivir decision on one-man, one-post. Rahul’s reluctance to file papers has brought into focus the probable candidates like Gehlot and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor for the top party post.
Rahul was responding to queries related to the polls for the post of next Congress president, for which an official notification was issued by the Central Election Authority on Thursday. The response of Rahul, who is leading the nationwide Bharat Jodo Yatra and is currently in Kerala, came amid reports that Ashok Gehlot would meet him and urge the leader to be the party chief again.
Rahul was party chief from 2017 to 2019 but he resigned owning the responsibility for the party’s forgettable performance in the Lok Sabha polls. Since then, he has been suggesting that a non-Gandhi should lead the party. But it is also true that there has been a popular demand within the party that Rahul should become the party chief again.
The nominations would take place between September 24 and 30. On Thursday, as part of his regular press interactions during the ongoing Bharat Jodo yatra, Rahul faced a barrage of questions over his candidature but politely said that he had already clarified his position earlier.
“If I don’t file papers, you can ask me the reason for it,” Rahul had said recently. On Thursday, he repeated the same answer. “Have some patience. Look at my past responses. My position has been the same,” Rahul said with a smile. Rahul, who is leading the yatra, said the constant focus on his candidature for the Congress president polls was an attempt to distract his focus from the yatra, which aimed to deliver some key messages to the people of India.
Also read: Gehlot game for national role, but his heart lies with Rajasthan
“My focus is clear. The message of the yatra is to highlight the disparity that exists today between the rich and the poor. When I meet people like fisherfolk or weavers or workers they tell me how they are under financial stress. They tell me how only a few rich people are benefiting from government policies,” he said.
“The Yatra also aims at countering the hatred and communal violence taking place in the country. These things are not good for the country. The BJP is spreading this hatred and disparity,” he said. According to the former Congress chief, the Congress was the only party conducting internal polls in the country.
“You ask questions from the Congress about the internal elections…who is contesting for party president…etc…but you never ask the same questions from any other party like the BJP, SP or CPI-M,” said Rahul. “I am saying this with pride that Congress is the only party in India which conducts such elections,” he said.
The Wayanad MP further said that the party was like his family and that he was in constant touch with the workers. “If they ask me something, I tell them. I don’t interact with them through the media,” he said, adding that “any worker can fight the polls. It is good for the party.” The former president noted that the media linked everything that he did to the 2024 national polls but that was not always the case.
“If I meet someone, you say it is for 2024…if I eat an ice-cream, you say it for 2024…it is not kike that…before 2024, it is important for me to spread the message of love and unity across the country. People will not accept an India where there is hatred and violence. They will not accept an India where the young people are not able to find jobs for them,” said Rahul.
Yet, the Wayanad MP batted for opposition unity saying it would be good that such discussions take place and a strategy was worked out to take on the BJP. “It is very important that the opposition comes together to fight the BJP,” said Rahul.
