Nehru-Gandhi family has kept Congress party united, says Gehlot

Under repeated attack from BJP over dynastic politics, a senior Congress leader on Saturday asserted that it was the Nehru-Gandhi family that kept the party united.

“The issue of the dynasty, raised by the BJP, has no impact on the masses,” AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot told reporters here.

Gehlot's remarks came soon after BJP President Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has replaced the politics of dynasty with the politics of performance, speaking on the occasion of the Modi government's fourth anniversary on Saturday.

“They keep talking about the dynasty. They have pressed the entire cabinet into doing so. But, I want to tell you that no member of Nehru-Gandhi family has come to power (become prime minister) for the last 28 years,” Gehlot said. Rajiv Gandhi was the last member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to hold the Office of Prime Minister from 1984-89.

“People across the country and all Congressmen believe that this family would do justice to them and if this family stays around the Congress will remain united. This is what troubles them (BJP),” Gehlot, a two-term Rajasthan chief minister, said.

Hitting out at the BJP, Gehlot said those speaking of “Congress-mukt Bharat' would soon find themselves nowhere to go.