The former Congress leader continues to attack Rahul Gandhi. Former Union Minister Shakil Ahmed has leveled a new accusation against Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. Ahmed says that Priyanka is unable to move forward because of Rahul's insecurity.
New Delhi: Former Congress leader Dr. Shakil Ahmed on Sunday spoke openly about the party’s continuous electoral failures, Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, and Priyanka Gandhi’s potential role. Shakil Ahmed attributed the party’s disappointing performance to the leadership’s working style, internal insecurity, and family-centric decisions. He clarified that he is not against Rahul Gandhi, but it is necessary to speak the truth for the good of the party. He said that Priyanka Gandhi is unable to come forward because of Rahul Gandhi’s insecurity.
Paid the price for trying to explain things to Rahul
Shakil Ahmed said that Sonia Gandhi united the Congress, which had various factions like those of Rajiv Gandhi, PV Narasimha Rao, and Sitaram Kesri, and created a strong ‘Sonia Gandhi’s Congress’, rescuing the party from crisis and taking it to new heights, but Rahul Gandhi could not even make this Congress of Sonia Gandhi his own.
He said, “We are not against Rahul Gandhi. I spent a lot of time with him, talked to him a lot. Wherever I saw a mistake, I would point it out in the room, saying that this shouldn’t be done. I understood that the good of the Congress is the good of the country, but perhaps Rahul was hurt, and I had to pay the price for it.”
Rahul Gandhi is clearly ‘arrogant’
Shakil Ahmed clearly called Rahul Gandhi ‘arrogant’. Giving the example of the party president election, he said that Shashi Tharoor had stood for election, and he wanted to vote for Tharoor, but since Sonia and Rahul made Mallikarjun Kharge the official candidate, he voted for Kharge so that his vote would not be wasted. Kharge still says that Rahul and Sonia made him the president. He said that when Sonia, Rahul, and Priyanka are together, whoever the Nehru-Gandhi family wants will be the president. Other leaders remain uncertain about what to do.” Regarding Priyanka Gandhi, Shakeel said that he hasn’t had much contact with her, but her speeches connect with the public the most. There is a sense of Indianness in her speeches. Sonia upheld the culture, but Priyanka was born here, so she speaks more accurately and effectively.
Trust in the Nehru-Gandhi family in Congress
He believes that there is trust in the Nehru-Gandhi family in Congress, and the decision regarding leadership rests with the family, but many leaders say that Rahul’s insecurity is preventing Priyanka from being brought forward. She became an MP after 30-32 years in politics, served as a general secretary, but was not given charge of any major state. After the UP defeat, she was made the secretary of a small state like Assam, so that she wouldn’t come to the forefront. The party continued to fail, but Rahul remained the face.
Shakeel said, “Rahul is the owner of the party. Whether Priyanka wants to come to the front or wants to work behind her brother is an internal matter. There seems to be a lot of affection between the two. From the outside, Priyanka’s public connection and speeches are better than anyone else’s.”
Edited by: Anil Kumar
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Anil Kumar is part of the homepage team at Navbharat Times Digital. He has about 16 years of experience in both print and digital media. He has been associated with Navbharat Times Online since January 2021.
Courtesy: Hindi News