JOIN USHave made my decision, will reply when poll is held: Rahul Gandhi on being Congress chief again
With Congress heading to president's election next month, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he has "very clearly decided" on whether he will contest for the top post but refused to give a definite "yes" or "no" while asking media to pose the question if he does not enter the fray after conclusion of the organisational exercise.
His first comments on the party presidential elections in the midst of Bharat Jodo Yatra raised suspense on whether he would contest, even as his close aides like Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal had earlier said that Rahul has clearly told them that he is not willing to return as party chief.
Though Rahul did not specify whether he will contest or not, senior leaders said he has not changed his mind and he chose his response in such a way not to take the focus away from the yatra.
“See, whether I become the (party) president or not...this will become very clear when the presidential election takes place in the Congress party…So wait till that time," he told a press conference organised where the yatra halted in the morning at Muttidichan Parai in Nagercoil district.
"When that time comes, you will see and then if I don't stand, then you can ask the question why didn't you stand and then I will answer the question...I have very clearly decided in my mind what I am going to do. There is no confusion in my mind at all," Rahul said, as he faced a string of questions on whether he would fight the party polls.
A large section of the party wants Rahul, who resigned after the 2019 Lok Sabha election debacle, to return to the helm of affairs but his refusal so far has made the party managers look at other options. Party president Sonia Gandhi is learnt to have urged Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to lead the party.
Asked about the contradiction in him not inclined to become the party chief but "leading" the 3,570 km yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, he shot back saying he did not see any contradiction in his participation as he is a member of the Congress, which has decided to hold the yatra, and as one who agrees with the party's ideology. "What is the contradiction?...I am not leading the yatra...You like to focus on me," he said.
Rahul was of the view that the yatra will help in bringing together the Opposition but he felt that it was a "separate exercise."
While insisting that it was the responsibility of the entire Opposition to come together, he said, every party has a role in it. "It is not that the Congress party is the only party, every party has a role in it.
Referring to the BJP's criticism that the yatra was meant as 'Parivar (Gandhi family) Bachao Yatra', he said everybody has an opinion and they were welcome to have it.
"For us in the Congress, this is an attempt at understanding what is happening on the ground in India. This is an attempt to undo some of the damages the BJP-RSS has done. Of course, the BJP will have an opinion and I do not hold a grudge against it," he said.
He said the idea of this yatra is to connect with the people and understand their problems. This padyatra is against the damage that the BJP and the RSS has done by "spreading hatred" in the country, he said.
Asked why he was not convincing some dissident leaders, he said the BJP has better means of putting pressure on them. "He said the BJP has taken control of all institutions and dealt with them through CBI, ED and Income Tax Department."
"Earlier, we used to fight a political party. Now the fight is not between two parties but between the structure of the Indian state and the Opposition. Everybody understands that this is not an easy fight...Many people don't want to get trapped in it. It is easier to make peace with the BJP, fold hands before them and your life will be easier," he said.
"That is not my training. It is not my character, (which) is to fight for the idea of India. There are many people in the Congress and in the opposition who are convinced of this matter," he said.