Senior Congress leader and former union minister Jairam Ramesh has said that it was "reasonable to assume" that AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will take over as Congress president this year.
Sounding a note of caution against jumping to conclusion that it might happen immediately, Mr. Ramesh on Wednesday told reporters here in response to a question at a press conference that Mr. Gandhi had emerged a new human being after his recent 56-day sabbatical. He was able to communicate and participate more in party activities. The sabbatical gave him the `sanjeevani' (nectar) to evolve himself.
The Congress will look to Mr. Gandhi's leadership to overcome its worst-ever defeat in general elections last year, including in five state assemblies, and rediscover its strength. The struggle over amendments to Land Acquisition Act, 2013, gave the party much-needed shot in the arm for achieving the objective. The Opposition of the party to amendments was not political, but principled, he added.
The former union minister, who is here to highlight failures of Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government, as part of Congress party's nation-wide initiative, said that the party will do all it can to defeat the BJP in the ensuing elections to Bihar Assembly.
A clear picture on the political alignments in Bihar with the fundamental objective of mobilising secular forces against the BJP will emerge in the next few weeks. Mr. Jairam Ramesh said that it was condemnable that Mr. Narendra Modi criticised his political opponents during his foreign tours.
COMMents
SHARE