Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that dynastic politics was a “problem” in India, but maintained that a large number of people in his party did not have a dynastic background.
At the same time, he said that a person’s background did not determine his capabilities.
Responding to the question of whether the Congress was more associated with dynastic politics, he argued that India was being run by dynasties.
“Most parties in India have that problem So...Mr. Akhilesh Yadav is a dynast. Mr. Stalin [son of M. Karunanidhi in the DMK] is a dynast... even Abhishek Bachchhan is a dynast. So that’s how India runs. So don’t get after me because that’s how they India is run. By the way, last, I recall, Mr. Ambanis are running the business. That’s also going on in Infosys. So that’s what happens in India,” he said as he listed several prominent Indians born into famous families.
But, he said there were a large number of people in the Congress who were not from dynastic families.
“And I can name them in every State. There are also people who happen to have a father, or a grandmother or a great grandfather in politics. They do exist,” he said.
“The real question is whether the person actually a capable and a sensitive person,” he added.