My relationship with Gandhi family is beyond any logic: CM

Jaipur: Chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday said his relations with the Gandhi family are beyond any contention and logis. “My relations with the Gandhi family are beyond any contention or logic and will remain so even after October 19,” he said soon after arriving at the state Congress headquarters to vote in the presidential election on Monday.
“Even after October 19, my relations with the Gandhi family will remain the same as it has been for the last 50 years. I can say this with certainty,” he said.
He added, “Vinoba Bhave ji had said once that the relationship between him and Geeta Mata is beyond logic, the relationship between me and the Gandhi family is beyond logic. That will remain for a lifetime,” said Gehlot, who was the favourite for the Congress presidency till his supporters rebelled on the choice of his successor in the state.
Amid an ongoing debate of the young versus the old in the Congress, Gehlot said there is no substitute for experience at any level and suggested that young leaders should have patience as they would get their chances when the time comes.
He called leaders such as Jyotiraditya Scindia, RPN Singh and Jitin Prasada, who left the Congress to join the BJP, as opportunists and pointed out that all of them became Union ministers at a very young age in the Congress.
Without naming Sachin Pilot, with whom he is involved in a tussle over the chief minister's post and the party leadership in the state, Gehlot said young leaders who are still in the Congress should work hard and when the time comes, the central leadership will give them a chance just like he and other leaders got their chances.
“Youngsters can put in hard work, but there is no substitute for experience, whether it is at the village, town, district, state or national level,” the veteran leader said. “This is a time of crisis and such people should work hard, which will strengthen their credibility and prestige. When the opportunity comes, the leadership will surely give them a chance just like we got,” he added.
Gehlot questioned ECI’s impartiality as the assembly polls for Gujarat were not announced along with that for Himachal Pradesh. “This would not have been possible without PM Modi and Shah's intervention,” he said.