Don’t need to be Congress president to strengthen it: Rahul in new book

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has indicated that he won’t assume the reins of the get together within the rapid future and maintained that he stepped down from the put up after the 2019 Lok Sabha election debacle to develop a tradition of accountability within the organisation, based on a brand new guide.

“I’m here, standing by the Congress party and ready to fight for it because I believe in the Congress party. I don’t need to be the Congress president in order to fight for the Congress party or to work on strengthening it,” he mentioned in an interview with US-based authors Pradeep Chibber and Harsh Shah for his or her guide ‘India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders’.

Gandhi was requested by the authors if he can be open sooner or later to guide the get together as soon as once more if his colleagues need him again because the Congress president.

Gandhi has indicated on many events that he’s not keen to rethink his determination and has typically referred to his letter to Congress staff on July three final yr to make his level.

He had resigned because the get together chief at a gathering of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on May 25 final yr following the get together’s drubbing within the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress managed to win simply 52 seats within the 543-member House whereas the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to energy with a much bigger majority of 303 seats.

At the CWC assembly, Gandhi slammed the veterans for “placing the interests” of their sons above the get together, and likewise talked about that some leaders had even misplaced the election from their strongholds whilst he criticised a piece of the so-called GenNext for hankering for posts.

He introduced finality to his determination to step down because the get together president on July three when he tweeted a four-page farewell notice itemizing the the explanation why he resigned.

In the letter, Gandhi took a dig at his get together colleagues for the electoral drubbing the Congress obtained and spoke concerning the lack of assist to him, saying he had stood utterly alone within the combat in opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

“I personally fought the Prime Minister, the RSS and the institutions they have captured with all my being. I fought because I love India. And I fought to defend the ideals India was built upon. At times, I stood completely alone and am extremely proud of it,” he wrote.

Asked by the authors why he resigned from the put up, Gandhi mentioned, “The Congress party lost the 2019 elections, under my command. The Congress has to develop a culture of accountability and that begins right at the top. I’m pretty clear in my mind that I am accountable for the 2019 loss and that I had to step down as a consequence.”

Asked if his household supported his determination, the previous Congress chief mentioned: “We’ve obviously discussed this as a family and I’ve listened to and appreciated my mother and sister’s perspectives. But I feel that the culture of accountability is missing at present in the Congress party and the only way to inject that into the Congress system is by beginning at the top.”

To one other query on the Gandhi household being the Congress’s largest asset but in addition a legal responsibility as a result of the BJP retains bringing again the ‘namdaar versus kamdaar’ concern, he dismissed it simply propaganda.

“I can give you a list of over a hundred senior RSS–BJP leaders all of whom come from political dynasties. As far as my mother, my sister, and I are concerned, we are driven by ideology. We fundamentally believe in the Congress ideology and will not compromise with our belief just to grab political power. The RSS–BJP that keeps changing like a chameleon in its blind pursuit of power, understands the power of the Gandhi family’s commitment to the Congress ideology. In fact, they fear it, which is why we are the primary targets of their propaganda and systematic disinformation,” he mentioned.

Asked what function he envisions for himself and his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, within the get together, Gandhi mentioned, “My sister is an extremely capable person, who has to chart her own political course. I’m happy that she’s working in Uttar Pradesh because I think there’s a huge opportunity for the Congress party to make a strong comeback in the next state elections over there.”

To one other query, if it straightforward to persuade her to affix the politics, the previous Congress chief mentioned, “Priyanka and I had spoken about this before and her view was that while her children were growing up and still in school, she wouldn’t be able to do justice to a full-time political career. Now that they’re going to college, she can immerse herself fully and do justice to the role she has agreed to play as a general secretary of the Congress party.”

Concluding the interview, when requested how he want to be remembered after his retirement, Gandhi mentioned, “I’m not too bothered about what people will say about me after I’ve gone. I’m more interested in the here and now and in what I do, what I stand for, who I stand with, and who I can help. Jawaharlal Nehru said that he’d like his ashes to be scattered in the Himalayas. He didn’t even want a memorial in his name. I don’t think he was too bothered about what people were going to say after he was gone. Or whether they would remember him or not. I think he was much more bothered about his actions, while he was still alive! I think that’s a good model to follow.”

In the interview, Gandhi additionally talked about his hobbies, passions, and pursuits exterior the Congress.

“I’m passionate about Aikido, a Japanese martial art in which I have a Black Belt. I’m a pilot. I love diving and I’m both a free diver and a scuba divemaster. I enjoy running and cooking. In fact, I can cook you the best omelettes you’ll ever have!”

“By nature, I’m a curious person. When I get interested in something, I tend to deep dive into it, to understand its nature. That’s just the way I operate. I will tend to go into detail and build a certain level of competence and understanding in that subject. Amongst the broad sweep of subjects, I’m interested in are Indian philosophy, Buddhism, the history of the Mongols, WWI/WWII history, Middle Eastern history, Pakistani history, and Chinese.”

When identified that a whole lot of his critics have mentioned that it looks as if he’s in politics out of compulsion and never ardour, Gandhi mentioned: “I hate labels. Politics is a label…Politics is very important to me, it takes up a lot of my time, but, I have other interests as well. My political approach is built around listening to people and trying to help them achieve what they want to achieve. I go to people who I think need my help and I will raise their issues and try and fight for them. I spend a lot of time thinking about politics and discussing it. I love what I do. I’m passionate about it. I’m certainly not doing what I do out of any compulsion.”

Asked concerning the criticism concerning his frequent holidays, he mentioned: “In India, I live my life surrounded by security men, 24X7. As a consequence, in India, I have very little privacy, other than when I’m in my own home. When I’m out of India, I have more space, more privacy. I enjoy learning from other cultures and I love interacting with people from different parts of the world. I don’t see my trips abroad as vacations. For example, when I’m in the United States and if I visit Berkeley to interact with students over there, I learn from that experience. There are new ideas I’m exposed to; new ways of looking at things. These are extremely enriching experiences and that’s what I enjoy most about travelling abroad.”

Gandhi alleged that this notion has been created by the RSS and the BJP as they see him as a menace.

“The truth is, I’m up against a formidable RSS–BJP political machine that attacks me 24X7, because it sees me as a threat, because it sees the ideas that I represent as a threat. So it has to paint me as someone who isn’t interested, as someone with no understanding, as someone who only wants to go abroad on vacation. The fact that you are asking me this question, proves that their propaganda is somewhat successful,” he mentioned.