“I had turned down the offer of prime ministership as I did not have the merit,” Rahul said while addressing a press conference here.
He said the country had the “most capable” prime minister in Manmohan Singh. In fact, there were many people in the party, who were more capable than him (Rahul), he added.
In response to a query, he said that he did not shy from taking part in the debate in the Lok Sabha over the Liberhan Commission report. “I did not shy..I had other pressing engagements and besides there are many senior people in the party for speaking on the report,” he said. He, however, did not offer any comment on the Liberhan Commission report nor did he say anything on the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid issue. “It is time to look to the future” was all he said.
Outlining his agenda in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul said that he was focussing on ensuring that more and more bright youths join the Youth Congress and National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress.
He rejected an assertion that only influential and affluent people were seen around him. “There are 600-700 boys and girls with me in Youth Congress who all come from ordinary families...the media only focuses on important people,” he said. Rahul Gandhi appeared to be soft on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and did not offer any comment on latter’s indictment by the Liberhan Commission but said that he (Vajpayee) was a ‘very senior politician’.
“I cannot say whether the Liberhan Commission has done the right thing or wrong....Vajpayee is a very senior leader,” Rahul said.
“I cannot be a judge...as a young person in our tradition I owe a certain degree of respect for Vajpayee,” he said.
Fitness freak
Lucknow, IANS: Rahul Gandhi clearly believes in working out anytime — even if it means squeezing in a 60-minute jog at midnight in UP’s Hardoi town. After packed meetings on Monday he went for a workout at night. “We were surprised... it was at around 11:30 pm when Rahulji started jogging. He took several rounds till 12:30 pm,” Ajai Singh, Hardoi Congress president said.
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