New Delhi: Ever since his appointment as Congress general secretary three years back, Rahul Gandhi has been quite vocal about the need to do away with the culture of nomination and sycophancy in the party. But no lessons seem to have been learnt, as senior party leaders competed with each other while singing the praises of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul at the AICC meeting.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son and party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi during the Meeting of AICC Members at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Kerala PCC chief Ramesh Chennithala declared Rahul as the next premier even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh watched the proceedings silently. "(In 2014) the government will be formed for the third time under Congress leadership, and it has to be formed under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi," he said.
"Rahulji is such a person who spends nights in jhuggis and does manual labour by lifting buckets (with other labourers at a site in Rajasthan). This could be done only by the son of Rajiv and Sonia," said Delhi PCC chief JP Agrawal.
Even Meenakshi Natarajan, who has been witness to Rahul's refrain about his dislike for sycophancy, emphasised Sonia's "tyag aur balidaan".
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh greets Congress President Sonia Gandhi as she arrives at the Meeting of AICC Members at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee also made a discreet reference to Sonia's "sacrifice", saying she had demonstrated the "highest quality of sacrifice by not occupying the highest ofice". He also mentioned how the "dynamic leadership of Rahul Gandhi" would bring "a new era of inclusive participation".
A delegate from Punjab said that only the Nehru-Gandhi family could protect the country.
The only exception to the rule was former Orissa chief minister Hemanand Biswal, who confined his speech to voicing the cause of tribals and demanding that a tribal regiment be set up to bring the youth into the mainstream.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi at the Meeting of AICC Members at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
As the proceedings began, general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said: "I would like to give a hint to you. Many PCCs have proposed to authorise the Congress president to nominate CWC members. An organisation is not run by competition, but by coordination".
All the AICC members were quick to take the hint, and raised their hands to authorise Sonia. But Rahul was not seen during this process of nomination.
In her concluding remarks, Sonia said that selecting CWC members is "not as easy as it looks" as there are always some people who get left out and complain. "Now that you have reposed faith in me, you should be ready to incur some loss. By the way, if one keeps patience in the Congress, sooner or later one's number comes," she said.
Source: The Indian Express
