Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress party, asserted on Saturday that whoever is chosen to lead the party as president next month “will not be remote-controlled” by the Gandhi family and have a free hand in making decisions.
The Congress MP said Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge, who are standing in the Congress president election, have a position and perspective and are people of statute and understanding.
“I don’t think that either of them will be a remote control… frankly, this tone is insulting to both of them,” Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference during the Karnataka leg of his party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
In contrast to the Bharatiya Janata Party, senior Member Kharge remarked on Friday that all Congress presidents are chosen through consensus, dispelling rumours that he will serve as Sonia Gandhi’s remote control and proxy once elected to the position of party leader (BJP).
Rahul Gandhi also said by nature he believes in “tapasya” and wanted an element of suffering in this communication to people through the yatra which seeks to cover a distance of about 3,500 km from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on foot.
As the yatra resumed from Mayasandra, Tumakuru in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi engaged the public and stated that the party believes in combating those who create hatred.
He also emphasised how irrelevant it is to what community someone is from when they promote hatred.
“My view is that it doesn’t matter who the person spreading hatred is, it doesn’t matter which community they come from, spreading hatred and violence is an anti-national act and we will fight against such people,” said the Congress MP.
“I have always stood for a certain idea that disturbs the BJP and RSS. Thousands of crores of media money and energy have been spent to shape me in a way which is untruthful and wrong. That will continue as that machine is financially rich and well-oiled.”
His third interaction with the media during the march was this one. The yatra is currently in its Karnataka leg, and on Saturday it reached its 31st day.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, according to the Wayanad-based Congress MP, is being undertaken to challenge the BJP-led Centre’s divisive policies and to educate the populace about the perils of economic inequality, social polarisation, and political centralization.