Skip to main content

Rahul not looking to be PM, for 3 decades no Gandhi family member occupied the post: Sachin Pilot

By A Representative
Even as "predicting" that the Congress will lead the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to victory during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader known to be close to party president Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, has given clear indications that Rahul may give up his claim for Prime Ministership for the sake of opposition unity.
"In the last 30 years, no one in the Gandhi family has occupied the position of a Prime Minister, Chief Minister or a Minister. I don’t think Rahulji is now looking to occupy the top position. He is building the party, he is taking on the challenge of the BJP, and we don’t know what the future holds”, he underlined.
“The Congress will lead an opposition alliance but who will occupy what position, time will tell,” Pilot, who is in Melbourne, said in an interview to South Asia Times (SAT) editor Neeraj Nanda. Pilot, along with another senior party leader, Milind Deora, were attending a meet -and -greet event organized by the Indian Overseas Congress, Australia.
According to the SAT report, the two Congress leaders’ visit is being seen as a continuation of the earlier visit by well-known NRI technocrat Sam Pitroda, aimed at revitalizing the Congress amongst the large Indian diaspora in Australia. Pilot said, “The current Modi-led NDA regime is incompetent to rule and we have got a whole policy framework as an alternative; in 2019 there will be a UPA plus plus government."
Commenting on the lynching incidents in India, Pilot said, “There are laws in the country including on cow slaughter. If anyone violates those laws the due process of law should take its own course. But it cannot be that on mere suspicion you attack and kill people in broad daylight. Those convicted in lynching are being garlanded by political leaders. This our country cannot afford to have."
When asked why was the Congress is not launching a nationwide agitation on the lynching issue, Pilot said, “We have taken it to the task. It is not just a Congress issue, but a human issue. As a political party, we are opposed to any sort of violence. It’s a law and order issue, the state governments are supposed to look after it."
"The Congress and its President Rahul Gandhi have taken up the issue in the Parliament. We have protested against the violent nature of our politics and the people of India are seeing this happening and will give a befitting reply to it in the 2019 elections.There were anti-social elements before also but these elements now have the courage to do these acts. The incumbent government will have to give a big price for it", he added.
The view is strong in the Congress that a united Congress-led opposition before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections does not look a distant possibility. QIf the Congress is ready to give up the claim on party president Rahul as the prime ministerial nominee, more opposition parties may join hands to pose a bigger challenge to the BJP-led NDA.
Pilot's statement acquires significance against the backdrop of the strong view among circles around Rahul that most of the opposition parties till now were reluctant to align with the Congress with Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial nominee. As and when Gandhi's candidacy for the PM's post was raked up, most of the Opposition parties kept away from joining chorus with the Congress.
While in May, campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections, Gandhi claimed that he would be the prime minister in 2019 if his party gets maximum seats, according to this view,that declaration met with a bleak approval not just from the non-NDA and non-UPA parties but also from the Congress itself.
Not without significance, three crucial opposition parties which would matter in 2019, such as Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP), Mayawati-headed Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Lalu Prasads Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), prevaricated on extending support to the Congress with Rahul as the PM candidate.
After all, the three parties hold significance for the Congress because it has aligned with them in the last Uttar Pradesh and Bihar Assembly elections in 2017 and 2015 respectively. Moreover, the two states together account for a whopping 120 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats (22 per cent).
Meanwhile, among those leaders who are said to be keen on being projected as PM candidate include Lalu Prasad Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav, BSP's Mayawati, and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.
The issue of Gandhi as PM again became the talking point in political circles when the Congress' highest decision-making body, Congress Working Committee (CWC), met on July 22 and ratified the decision.
While several Congress leaders approved it, barring Congress alliance partner in Karnataka, the Janata Dal (Secular), no other party came forward to support it. These included West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandra Babu Naidu, NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
This led the Congress to suggest on July 24 that Congress that it would support any candidate who would not be backed by the Sangh parivar or the ruling BJP.

Comments

TRENDING

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee  Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar*  Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

EVMs: Govt must prove beyond reasonable doubt it's upholding mandate for free, fair polls

By Jerald D’souza  With the growth of India’s population, concerns about electoral fraud associated with ballot papers, also began to escalate. In 1989, the People’s Representation Act was amended to enable EVMs to prevent electoral fraud. In 1998, EVMs made their debut during legislative assembly elections and for the first time for general elections in 2004. However, criticisms against the EVMs and questions about their integrity have been raised by political parties, civil society and the general population. On 2 February 2024, there was a noteworthy demonstration of dissent where numerous individuals, including Ambedkarite advocates, legal professionals, and other members of civil society  convened at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the prohibition of EVMs. In 2024, the Supreme court had slapped down a petition to return to paper ballots on the basis that machines give “absolutely accurate results” unless human bias maligns them. The court stated that it was open to testi...

This Indian British Marxist blamed USSR's collapse in 1991 on Khrushchev's 'revisionism'

By Harsh Thakor*  Harpal Singh Brar, British Indian Marxist scholar and communist leader, has passed away in Chandigarh. He was 85. He was a lifelong supporter of socialism, Marxism, and the working class. He will be remembered among British Communists.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler*  In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). 

Chalapathi's death in encounter suggests Maoists' inability to establish broader mass support

By Harsh Thakor* The Maoist movement experienced a significant loss during the Ramagudem encounter on January 21, with the death of Chalapathi (Pratap), a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist). His death, along with 15 others, marks a major setback for the movement. Reports suggest that his location was revealed to security forces through a selfie with his wife.

Why do we mostly resist and refrain from communicating on sanitation topic?

By Nikhil Kumar, Mansee Bal Bhargava* According to UN SDG Progress report (2022), at the present moment no targets for SDG 6 are expected to be met by 2030. In 2022, 2.2 billion people had no access to safe drinking water and 3.5 million lacked safe sanitation. Approximately 50% of the world’s population was reported to have been under resourced in enough water for part of the year and a quarter of that population was living under “extremely high” water stress. Add to it, droughts have affected over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021.

CCG raises concerns over Indian State of Forest Report 2023 in open letter to environment minister

By A Representative  The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former civil servants, has expressed serious concerns over the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 in an open letter to the Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change. The group has criticized the report's delayed release, flawed methodology, and misleading claims regarding the state of India's forests.

Govt of India asked to work for release of 217 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistan since 2021

By A Representative  Members of the fishing communities from Gujarat and Diu, Union Territory, held a press conference in Ahmedabad, urging the Union Government to take proactive measures to secure the release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Pakistan. Presently, 217 Indian fishermen, mostly from Gujarat and Diu, are held in Pakistan’s Malir Jail. Of these, 53 have been incarcerated since 2021 and 130 since 2022.

Operation Kagar represents Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism: Resistance continues

By Harsh Thakor Operation Kagar represents the Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism, which claims to embody the struggles and aspirations of Adivasis. Criminalized by the state, the Maoists have been portrayed as a threat, with Operation Kagar deploying strategies that jeopardize their activities. This operation weaves together economic, cultural, and political motives, allegedly with drone attacks on Adivasi homes.