Not just 2 months, Priyanka Gandhi's here for big mission: Rahul Gandhi

AMETHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday made an emotional announcement of sister Priyanka’s debut in politics as he asserted her plunge would not be shortlived but was meant for a big mission.

Rahul made these remarks while replying to a question by TOI during his first public interaction on his home turf Amethi after SP and BSP announced their alliance without Congress for Lok Sabha polls.

“Priyanka ko aur Jyotiraditya ko maine Uttar Pradesh do mahinon ke liye nahi bheja hai. Maine mission diya hai. Congress ki jo vichardhara hai sabko saath lekar chalne ke liye aur jo Uttar Pradesh ki vichardhara hai uske liye (I am not sending Priyanka for just two months. She and Jyotiraditya are being sent for a big mission. They will take Uttar Pradesh forward following the Congress philosophy),” said Rahul. He repeatedly referred to Priyanka as “meri behen” at nearly 18 halts as he walked and travelled amid a frenzied Amethi crowd for village addresses, with party workers and press interactions and impromptu tea sessions that lasted a marathon 13 hours.

“Meri behen, jo bahut capable aur karmath hai, woh ab mere saath kaam karegi. Mujhe personally bahut khushi ho rahi hai yeh batate hue (My sister, who is so hardworking and capable, will work with me now. It’s a matter of great happiness that I am sharing this),” he told reporters. At one of the pit stops near Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar in Salon, he spent nearly three minutes explaining the relevance of Priyanka’s induction.“Ek aur baat sun lo, acchi tarah samajh lo, ab maine Priyanka ko general secretary bana diya hai. Aur ab Congress party yahan par apna CM bithane ka kaam karegi. Ab Delhi me Congress ki sarkaar, aur Uttar Pradesh mai dam se ladegi (Listen to me carefully, and understand this, I have made Priyanka general secretary of UP. Now, Congress will work to have its own CM. With a government at Centre soon, we will fight with courage in UP),” he said.

As he was interrupted by victorious cries from supporters hailing Priyanka, he turned back and asked them to control emotions. “Ruk jao bhai,” he said. Asked if Priyanka would also make a debut either from her mother’s seat, Rae Bareli, or elsewhere, he said that this decision would be best left to her. “Dekhiye woh decision Priyanka ke upar hai. But my main point is that we would not play on the backfoot. We neither played on backfoot in Gujarat, nor we would play in UP. That’s it,” he said.

“2019 Lok Sabha elections is a battle of ideologies and we have taken a big step to take the Congress’s message to the people...and I feel that the BJP is scared of us,” said Rahul.

“Jyotiraditya bhi bahut dynamic leader hain, aur hum sab mil ke BJP se ladne ka kaam kaarenge(Jyotiraditya is a dynamic leader. Together, we all will fight the BJP),” Rahul said on Jyotiraditya’s appointment as AICC in-charge for western UP. “I want to tell the people of UP that a lot of time has been wasted and the state has not progressed. We at Congress will leave no stone unturned to achieve the goal,” said Rahul.