Congress' big reveal is a reminder that Rahul Gandhi had never hankered for power (File)
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had offered to resign and make way for Rahul Gandhi to take the top post but he declined, the Congress revealed today as it tackled fresh speculation following headlines from a Priyanka Gandhi Vadra interview in which she was quoted as favouring a non-Gandhi as Congress president. The Congress commented on "the sudden media interest egged on by BJP" in a "year-old remark" by Priyanka Gandhi and asserted that the Nehru-Gandhi family was never drawn by the trappings of power.
As the Congress dusted off its narrative of Rahul Gandhi-for-president, party spokesperson Shanktisinh Gohil dropped the big reveal on Manmohan Singh wanting to relinquish his post, a reminder that Mr Gandhi had never hankered for power.
Priyanka Gandhi was quoted in media reports this morning from an interview excerpted from the book India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders, by Pradeep Chibber and Harsh Shah. The Congress said she had given the interview a year ago.
"We at (Congress) appreciate the sudden media interest (egged on by BJP) in a year-old remark (Dated 1st July, 2019) of Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The context today is to take on the vicious attack on India's polity by Modi-Shah dispensation and fight it fearlessly on front foot," tweeted Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.
He also said: "Nehru-Gandhi family has held together and served the Congress unmindful of the trappings of power. In 2004, Sonia Ji set an example by sacrificing power to serve the party. In 2019, Rahul Ji showed the courage of conviction and stepped down as INC President."
In a third tweet, he defended Rahul Gandhi's leadership.
3/3
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 19, 2020
Millions of Congress workers & leaders have seen that Sh. Rahul Gandhi has led the fight tireleesly, undaunted by the setbacks & vile attacks by Modi Govt on a daily basis.
It is this fearlessness & uncompromising courage that INC requires, Workers respect & Nation needs. https://t.co/SD72NgUoky
The interview quotes Priyanka Gandhi as saying that she would accept a non-Gandhi as her boss. But it is her comments on the Congress and its leadership that has made headlines as the party deals with turmoil that deepened after Mr Gandhi quit as chief last year over the party's national election defeat.
Priyanka Gandhi's interview refers to her brother's resignation letter, in which he stressed that the party must search for a new president. The indication was that it should be someone outside the Nehru-Gandhi family, which has led the Congress for most of its 134-year-old history.
"Perhaps not in the (resignation) letter but elsewhere, he has said that none of us should be the president of the party and I am in full agreement with him," Priyanka Gandhi says in the interview.
"I think that the party should find its own path also," she says.
Two days ago, suspended Congress leader Sanjay Jha tweeted that 100 leaders, including MPs and ministers, had written to Sonia Gandhi demanding a change in leadership and transparent elections. The Congress emphatically denied it, though a section in the party said they were in the process of seeking a meeting with Sonia Gandhi to voice concerns about the party.
Since Rahul Gandhi's resignation and refusal to reconsider it, his mother Sonia Gandhi has been interim Congress president. Her one-year term ended this month but the party said she would continue during the process of appointing a new chief.
