Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the newly appointed general secretary of the Congress party will play an active role in national politics, said party president Rahul Gandhi in an interview to English daily
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the newly appointed general secretary of the Congress party will play an active role in national politics, said party president Rahul Gandhi in an interview to English daily Hindustan Times.
Spelling out his strategy for the Lok Sabha 2019 polls, Rahul said,“As general secretary, she has, by definition, a national role… I give a job, and then I give another job based on the success of the job.”
Pointing out towards a possible tactical understanding with the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul said Congress would work with the SP and the BSP because the party have ideological agreement on a number of issues.
But, it does not mean “that the Congress party will give up right to push our ideology in Uttar Pradesh either,” noted Rahul.
Dismissing description of the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) as chaos, the Congress President emphasised that while opposition parties are united, it is the BJP which is in chaos with the senior party leaders not on the same page as the Modi.
On the question of Ram temple, Rahul declined to say anything as the matter is subjudice. But, he accepted that the matter is a hot button in UP.
“It would not be fair for me to opine as the highest court in the country is deliberating on it. I would say that what the Supreme Court decides is what the Congress and everyone will accept,” noted Rahul in the interview.
Hitting out at Modi, Rahul said there is absolute rejection for the Modi style of functioning in the BJP.
“If I (were to) speak to Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, their (the BJP’s) entire leadership, I wouldn’t be surprised to find absolute rejection of Narendra Modi’s style of functioning. So, the division is actually in the BJP and what is keeping that division publicly out of sight is fear… So, what Modi has not understood is that Modi is only Modi’s leader,” stated Rahul.
Elaborating three common issues that unite opposition parties together against BJP, Rahul said:
“One, the need to address the job crisis; two, the challenges posed by agrarian distress; and three, we are not going to let Modi and the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] destroy India’s institutions.”
“Every institution in India,” the Congress president added, “is facing Modi’s autocratic backlash.”
He said Modi believes that he is the Lord of India, just like the British believed.
Nailing PM for his failure to curb corruption, Rahul said anti-corruption image of Modi has been completely eroded by the Rafale controversy.
“Modi’s credibility is gone. When I drive around Delhi, I hears people say “chowkidar chor hai” (the watchman is a thief).
Raking up the Rafale issue in interview, Rahul said if the Congress is voted to power, he would ask experts on military aircraft, and defence purchases, to look into the Rafale deal.
Targeting BJP for ignoring the plight of farmers, an aggressive Rahul blamed BJP for being soft on debt ridden businessmen.
“How many farmers can walk into Arun Jaitley’s office ?” asked Rahul, adding crony capitalism was one of the biggest charges against the Congress-led UPA between 2004 and 2014, but now it has taken a similar tack to attack the government.
Chalking out his plan to deal with the agrarian crisis and unemployment, Rahul said : “Agriculture has no magic wand. It needs a comprehensive and composite policy and strategic intervention. You are not going to get jobs from the 15-20 biggest industrialists in the country. You will generate jobs from unleashing the huge potential of micro, small and medium businesses. Give them access to banks, give them support, protect them and see what happens.”
source: NH
