The commitment of “one-man, one-post” that was adopted as part of the Udaipur Declaration needs to be honoured, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday, ahead of the Congress presidential polls.
His comment comes a day after Ashok Gehlot had asserted that he did not need to step down from his Chief Minister’s post to contest the Congress presidential poll. Mr. Gandhi’s position makes it clear that Mr. Gehlot will have to give up his chief ministership if he gets elected as the next Congress president.
Interacting with the media in Kochi, the former Congress chief said Opposition parties should come together to fight the financial and institutional powers and the violent ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Crackdown on PFI
Asked about the crackdown by Central agencies against the Popular Front of India and its members, he said, “My view is that 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 on communalism regardless of where it is coming from”.
Though he steadfastly refused to say anything about his candidature in the upcoming presidential election, he did have some advice for the contenders.
“The Congress president is not just an organisational post, the Congress president is an ideological post. It is a belief system. So, my advice would be that whoever becomes Congress President should remember that he represents the set of ideas, a belief system and a vision of India,”Mr Gandhi said.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is widely perceived to be a candidate for the post, reached Kochi on Thursday. On Wednesday, Congress leader Sachin Pilot too had joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Mr. Gandhi.
Talking to mediapersons at the airport, Mr. Gehlot said the majority of the Pradesh Congress Committees in the country had requested Mr. Gandhi to assume the post. He said he would request Mr. Gandhi to take up the post.
At the press conference, however, Mr. Gandhi parried questions about the impending organisational elections. On a question on the reports that Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor may contest, the Congress leader said any party worker was free to contest.
Mr. Gandhi said he was of the view that the questions raised on issues other than the yatra were aimed at diverting the attention from its ideals. “I am not going to be distracted by any other issues. I will not fall into that trap,” he said.
Asked about his views on the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala, Mr. Gandhi said the Congress leaders of the State were in a better position to comment on it. He said a large number of LDF workers had come forward to greet the yatra and shook hands with him. Deep in their hearts, many of the LDF workers appreciated the idea of what was being raised, he said.
On the switching of sides of Congress legislators in Goa, the Congress leader said the organisation was fighting a machinery that
