Rahul shuns marriage to end dynastic politics

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi says dynastic rule in his party should not benefit anyone else after him. And he has found a rather ingenious way to ensure it, by remaining a bachelor and thus not have children to claim political inheritance.

“If I get married and have children, I will be a status quoist and will like my children to take my place,” the Nehru-Gandhi family scion is understood to have told his party MPs on Tuesday after one of them sought to know his plans about his marriage.

When the wedding bells will ring for him is a question that the 42-year-old bachelor is asked quite often, be it news conferences or his interactions with youth and his supporters over the past few years. His bachelorhood has been a subject of not only speculation but also gossip in political circles.

He, however, had evaded such questions in the past. His responses were: “I will get married soon. It will happen soon.”

The Congress refrained from making any comment on its vice-president’s latest view on his marriage. “This is a personal decision of an individual,” party spokesperson Rashid Alvi said.

Gandhi made his views on his marriage clear before his party MPs during his interactions with them at the Parliament complex here. He said he believes in “Nishkam Karma” prescribed in the “Bhagvad Gita” and called Mahatma Gandhi his “guru.”

The Congress leader also hinted at ways to put an end to the dynastic politics in the organisation, saying that the high command culture began in the party in the 70s when Indira Gandhi, his grandmother,  was the prime minister.

“My grandmother was under severe assault. I knew her and if I were in her place, I would have also done likewise," he quickly added, justifying her decisions.

The Congress leader said he was committed to bringing changes in his party and the country’s polity to make all workers and leaders realise their strength and dignity.