PM’s post not my priority: Rahul to partymen

“I look for 2019 or later,” Cong veep tells party members

GN Bureau | March 5, 2013




Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday made an attempt to clear his stand on his name being propped up as the probable prime ministerial candidate. He told his partymen, "The prime minister's post is not my priority. I believe in long-term politics."

"I look for 2019 or later,” said the Congress party vice-president. There has been much speculation both within his party and outside over whether Gandhi will be named as the Congress's nominee for the prime ministership ahead of the 2014 elections.

Gandhi, who has in the past told Congress leaders to refrain from Rahul-for-PM chanting, said that his focus is to strengthen his party. He, however, did not comment on who would be the PM if Congress returned to power.  

In January, he was formally anointed vice-president of Congress, though for years, he has been treated as the second most influential member of the party; the first being his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who is the Congress president.

The opposition party, the BJP, has so far not confirmed if it will announce Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate. Modi's popularity within his party was much on display the past weekend at a conclave of senior BJP leaders and thousands of workers, who shouted slogans in his support. In a one-hour speech, Modi tore into the Gandhis, accusing the Congress of sacrificing the country's interests for the Gandhi family.

Comments

 

Other News

Gandhian movement after Gandhi failed: Ram Guha

The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter