In Kerala, Rahul shoots down Ashok Gehlot's double-role ideas

It was on the 15th day of the Bharat Jodo Yatra that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed the press for the first time since he entered Kerala. At the Adlux Convention Centre at Angamaly in Ernakulam on Thursday (September 22), Rahul paid attention to every single journalist who raised a question, but carefully evaded the ‘uncomfortable’ ones and stuck to what he wanted to say. 

The most frequently asked question was about the election to the position

of the party president and his reluctance to take up the role. Rahul did not fall into any single provocation but repeatedly made it clear that he had already talked about it in his previous press meet — nothing less and nothing more.

Also read: Bharat Jodo Yatra – there is no shortcut to Delhi through South India

Rahul also reiterated the party’s “one-man, one-post” concept, virtually nixing Rajasthan Chief Minister’s plan to retain his chief ministerial post if he became the Congress president.

Goal of yatra

The goal of his party’s 3,500-km Bharat Jodo Yatra was to develop unity among the people against hatred and violence being spread in the country, reiterated Rahul.

“I am clear with my goal about the Yatra. My goal is to unite people against hatred and violence. The country has a tradition of humility and that is true India. My focus in this Yatra is to talk about the hatred and anger being spread in the country. Nothing can deviate the focus from the same,” said Rahul.

Talking about the party’s “one-man, one-post” concept, the Congress leader said: “What we decided in Udaipur was the Congress party’s commitment. I expect that commitment will be maintained,” said Rahul.

Opinion | The Udaipur match result: Gandhis 1, Congress 0

At the three-day Udaipur brainstorming session in May, the party proposed a number of reforms, including limiting one post to one person.

Gehlot’s arrival

Gehlot arrived in Kerala amidst speculation on the top post, but he is likely to press Rahul to take up the party reins.

Rahul, MP from Wayanad in Kerala, declined to answer queries on whether he would contest the presidential polls, saying, “I have made my position clear (on that) in the last press conference. I have repeated it several times.”

Also read: Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul charms Kerala as BJP, Left watch befuddled

Rahul said that questions on whether he would contest in the party’s presidential poll were “aimed at distracting me from the yatra”, saying that the decision made at Udaipur is a commitment that he expected would be maintained.

As the Congress is set to elect a non-Gandhi as its president, with Rahul, his mother Sonia and sister Priyanka Vadra having decided not to run for the post, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot or Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor are said to be vying to throw their hats in the ring.

When asked what would be his response to those criticising the yatra for spending very few days in Uttar Pradesh, he responded, “Don’t worry about that. We have a clear view on what needs to be done in UP.” He also said that the yatra was from one end of the country to another and “frankly we cannot walk 10,000 km”.

On whether the yatra can maintain the same momentum in other states as it is doing in Kerala, he said, “It does not matter which state you go to, the effect of the yatra would be the same regardless of who is running the state.”

Left and Congress

When asked about his position regarding the Left government in Kerala, Rahul said the evaluation of the LDF dispensation in the southern state would be better done by the Congress leaders here. However, he also said, “As far as the Left front goes, I have an ideological disagreement with them. I have issues with how they view politics and Kerala.”

He further said that people walking with the yatra are telling what they think about the Left government.

Also read: Congress chief polls – Stage set for Tharoor vs Gehlot contest?

“A lot of Left workers are coming and shaking hands with me. They appreciate the idea of what we are doing,” he added. At the same time, he also said that while it is difficult for senior leaders of the Left Front to support what the Congress was doing due to the “political combat” between them, “they know in their hearts that the point I am raising is correct”.

On queries regarding a unified opposition against the BJP, Rahul said it was very important for all opposition parties to come together as it “was required to fight the ideology and financial power and the institutional power” of the saffron party and the RSS. “So I think it is very important that opposition has a discussion and comes out with a strategy,” he said.

On the nationwide raids on the offices and other premises of the Popular Front of India (PFI), Rahul said all forms of communalism should be combated. “All forms of communalism, all forms of violence, regardless of where they come from, are the same and should be combated. There should be zero tolerance towards communalism regardless of where it is coming from,” he said.