Bhopal: Signalling a major overhaul of the beleaguered Madhya Pradesh Congress, senior leader Rahul Gandhi used a metaphor on Wednesday to outline his revival plan. Taking a swipe at the party’s old guard, which has dominated the party for decades, he said, “There are three types of horses: A race horse, a wedding horse and a lame horse. The race horse will be put in the race, the wedding horse in a wedding and the lame one needs to be asked to retire.”
“But they shouldn’t trouble others. Otherwise, they will have to face disciplinary action,” he told party workers in Bhopal’s Ravindra Bhawan during a day-long visit to the city to kickstart a campaign to revive the state organisation.
Referring to an earlier address to the Gujarat Congress, Rahul said, “Earlier I had mentioned two horses, but we all know there is a third kind of horse.”
Soon after he arrived in Bhopal, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha also chaired a meeting of the state’s political affairs committee. He was welcomed at the airport by state party president Jitu Patwari, leader of opposition Umang Singhar and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath.
Drawing from recent structural changes in the Gujarat Congress, Rahul hinted at a similar exercise in Madhya Pradesh. “I compared the old list of district presidents with the new names proposed by observers. One list had the names of assistants of senior leaders and the other list had potential. This is something we want to repeat in Madhya Pradesh and take it down from the district level to the village level,” he said.
The new district presidents, he explained, will be measured on objective parameters such as the party’s increase in vote share in local and parliamentary elections, the local unit’s response to the targeting and suppression of Adivasis, backward classes, women and minorities, and whether new workers are being promoted.
Rahul said district presidents would play a critical role in the selection of candidates for local bodies, MLAs and and MPs.
“There are some who keep giving controversial statements, some who say things out of frustration, and some others who also work for the BJP. But we have to start making changes somewhere. So we have decided to start from the district and district presidents up to the village level,” he said.
He added that the party had enough talent to defeat the BJP, but their hands were tied as their voices were stifled within the party. He assured them that the “doors of his home, that of Venu Gopal and state president Jitu Patwari would always be open for them”.
‘Narendra-Surrender’
Rahul also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Operation Sindoor, India’s response to the 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam, and reports of US President Donald Trump’s role in the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
“US President Trump picked up the phone and said, ‘What are you doing Modi ji?, Narendra-Surrender’. And swiftly obliging, Narendra Modi ji followed Trump’s order,” the Congress leader said.
He then drew parallels to the 1971 India-Pakistan when the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi stood her ground even as the US deployed the 7th Fleet.
“We all remember 1971 when there was no call but the 7th Fleet was on standby with aircraft carriers, but Indira Gandhi ji said, ‘I’ll do what needs to be done’.”
Rahul also attacked the BJP and RSS, saying they were in the habit of surrendering since the freedom struggle. But people like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were not among those who surrendered; instead, these are the people who fought the superpowers.
His attack on Modi drew a sharp reaction from the BJP. BJP state party president V.D. Sharma condemned Gandhi’s statement.
“The comments made by Rahul Gandhi show his Italian upbringing. He is playing the role of a Chinese agent and as the spokesperson of Pakistan. Why did Indira Gandhi release the prisoners of war after the 1971 war? Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the terrorists’ safe havens are destroyed,” he said.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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