Congress became property of one family after Independence: UP Assembly Speaker

The Congress used to be a democratic organisation till the country gained Independence but after that it became "property" of one family, with power being transferred from one generation to another, UP Assembly Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit said on Sunday.

He also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent "Hindu versus Hindutva" jibe at the BJP, saying he is in a "dilemma" as he himself does not understand the concept and advised him to read the book, "Discovery of India", penned by his great grandfather and former PM Jawaharlal Nehru.

The five-time MLA from Bhagwantnagar in Unnao described the patch-up between Samajwadi president Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav as an event in a family and said it should not be seen from a political point of view.

Dixit also hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a leader of "global repute" and claimed that the BJP will win around 350 of 403 seats in the next year’s state Assembly polls.

Taking at swipe at the Congress, Dixit said, "Till Independence, the Congress used to be a democratic organisation. But after Independence, Jawaharlal Nehru headed the government as well as the party."

"Since then, the trend started that the party became a property of the (Nehru-Gandhi) family. With respect, I would say that the Congress became the property of Nehru," he told PTI.

"It was transferred to Indira Gandhi. Then it became the property of Rajiv Gandhi, and then to Sonia Gandhi after some gap," he said, adding that for a brief period, it was run by Sitaram Kesri.

He also said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was adamant on taking part in the debate over Hindu and Hindutva without understanding the issue himself.

"The Supreme Court has long ago observed that Hinduism is a way of life. Rahulji says Hindu and Hindutva are separate. In fact, Hindu is the identity of this country and is also a geo-cultural name. The need is to understand the geo-cultural faith," the UP Speaker said.

"With due respect, I would say that Rahul Gandhi is in dilemma over the issue. He has not understood Hindu and Hindutva, then how can he make an effort to make others understand," Dixit said advising the leader to read the book, "Discovery of India", authored by Jawaharlal Nehru.

In his second visit to Amethi after his defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul had targeted Modi with his "Hindu versus Hindutvadi" jibe.

"On one side is a Hindu. On the other, is Hindutvadi. On one side is truth, love and non-violence and on the other is falsehood, hatred and violence," he had said.

"Hindutvadi bathes alone in the Ganga but a Hindu will bathe with crores of others," Gandhi said taking a swipe at the prime minister, who had recently inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi after taking a holy dip.

The UP Assembly Speaker refused to comment on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is making efforts to boost prospects of the Congress in the poll-bound state, but said, "The Congress is a party, which revolves only around one family."

On coming together of Akhilesh and Shivpal ahead of the Assembly elections, Dixit said, "I see this as an incident of the family and not from the political point of view."

He also claimed that the BJP will win around 350 seats in the elections.

"There is no match to the leadership of the BJP, especially that of Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, and no party has such a personality like him. I am not belittling personalities of other parties," he said, adding that Modi is a leader of "global repute".

"The benefit of schemes has reached people. I do not see anyone posing any serious threat to the BJP," he claimed.

He also praised Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Summing up his five-year term as a Speaker, the 75-year-old BJP leader said he is thankful to each members of the Assembly and the parties, which extended support to him in running the House.

"Those who consider me successful, I only tell them that this success is collective," he said.

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