Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, said that his role in the party would be determined by new Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and flaunted the election of the first non Gandhi president in 24 years as evidence of the inner-party democracy while slamming the BJP and the regional parties for allegedly being “dictators”.
Gandhi, who addressed the media at Adoni in Andhra Pradesh as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, said, “Congress president is the supreme authority in the Congress party and every Congress member reports to that person.”
Declining to comment on the new president’s role, he said, “The Congress president will decide in what role I am to be deployed.”
In an oblique reference to dissenting G-23 and Sashi Tharoor, who contested the election as a contender, he went on to add, “We listen to people and have free and fair elections inside it. Congress has a culture of listening and carrying people along. Have you ever heard of anybody publicly dissenting in BJP? Can you dissent in the YSR Congress or TDP. Dissent is not tolerated. These are dictatorships. Congress party is the only democratic and open minded party in the country.”
On the BJP, Gandhi said, “BJP has actually got 2-3 objectives. First is to maintain the caste hierarchy and to eventually kill the Indian Constitution. Objective number 2 is to ensure Indian women are always subservient to Indian men and the third objective is to divide India according to religious lines.”
He said the views of the Congress were diametrically opposed to this as it protects the Constitution, rights of women and brings communities and religions together. He accused the BJP of destroying the Indian economy through demonetisation and GST and transferring the wealth of the poor and middle class to the rich.
Speaking on the row over capital in Andhra Pradesh, the Congress MP said: “We do not think the idea of three capitals is a sensible and efficient idea. We think that Andhra Pradesh should have one capital and that capital should be Amravati.”
Congress has been decimated in AP post bifurcation but Gandhi claimed there is a scope for the Congress to rebuild itself in the state. Promising to stand with the “cheated” farmers from Amaravati he assured that when voted to power Congress will honour the commitments made during bifurcation including Polavaram project and the Rayalaseema special package.