Himachal Pradesh Congress Chief Pratibha Singh, who had claimed that Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi do not pay attention to senior leaders of the party and need to learn political manoeuvres, on Tuesday said the two leaders are like her children and her advice to them should not be misunderstood.
Pratibha Singh, the wife of the former Himachal chief minister Virbhadra Singh, is supervising the party’s campaign for the Himachal Pradesh elections. She is an MP from the Mandi constituency. In a self-made video, Singh said, “There was an interview conducted recently where I spoke about the party and many other issues. But many things were misconstrued and portrayed from different angles. The Gandhi family is dear to our family. We consider them as our own family members. As far as my loyalty is concerned, my husband had an association with the party for the last 60 years.”
“We also follow the same steps and continue our dedication to the party and the leadership. As an elderly person, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi are like children to me. If I say something or give advice to my children, that should not be misunderstood. It should not convey a different meaning at all,” she added.
Previously, Pratibha Singh stated that there is growing dissatisfaction within Congress because Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi do not prioritise and give time to senior Congress leaders.
In an interview with a news portal, Pratibha Singh said Rahul Gandhi should learn political manoeuvres and take measures to address the generation gap in the Congress.
She said the basic problem in Congress is that senior leaders seek attention but the younger generation does not pay attention to them. Singh stated that the new generation lacks the patience and maturity to bridge the gap.
This comes at a time when several state units, including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Jammu and Kashmir, of the party have already passed a resolution urging Rahul Gandhi to become the president of the Congress. The presidential election in Congress is due on October 17.
Asked whether Rahul should again lead the Congress, the Himachal Pradesh unit chief said it is up to the Wayanad MP if he wants to devote time to the party or wants to do other things in life.
She stated that if Rahul does not want to lead the party, there are many competent leaders in Congress who can. She claimed that had Rahul Gandhi listened to senior party leaders, the Congress would have been in a much better position today.
Singh referred to veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s departure from Congress, saying the younger generation leaders could have called Azad and sorted out the issues.
In the 2017 state elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 44 of the total 68 seats and formed the government in Himachal Pradesh. Congress managed to get only 21 seats.