Congress' Digvijaya Singh indicated that Rahul Gandhi may want to reconsider his style of leadership.
Highlights
- Congressman Digvijaya Singh talks of fatigue factor for seniors like him
- Rahul Gandhi should know "perception counts more than reality", he says
- Mr Singh sidelined by Congress after mismanaging Goa election result
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, recently stripped off the charge of important states by his party, today told NDTV that a reshuffle is welcome.
“We have been here for so long, something called fatigue sets in,’ the 70-year-old said, adding that his boss, “Rahul (Gandhi) wanted new people to come in and I am fine with that.”
Mr Singh has been held accountable for the laggard handling of Goa, where the Congress won the most seats in March, but was beaten by the BJP which quickly accrued the support of regional parties, snatching them away from negotiations with Mr Singh; it then went on to form the government.
In the debacle that flared up in Goa and other states, the Congress has, as ever, been careful to mitigate Mr Gandhi, its chief campaigner, of any blame, though a handful of leaders have suggested he should reconsider his approach including making himself more accessible.
“Rahul is a young man,” Mr Singh said of his 46-year-old boss. “He has his ways of functioning and we accept it.”
He indicated, however, that Mr Gandhi may want to reconsider his style of leadership.
“In politics, perception is larger than reality… There is room for improvement for everyone including him, it is in his own interest (to tackle this perception),” said Mr Singh, who once enjoyed the status of a political guru for Mr Gandhi, who has been castigated as aloof by former Congressmen like Himanta Biswa Sarma, who quit the party for the BJP and helped it to win North Eastern states like Assam.
The Congress, like Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, has alleged that electronic voting machines or EVMs can be manipulated. Yesterday, Mr Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party hacked what it described as a prototype of the machine in a much-hyped demo. The Election Commission has said the gadget used was a rough imitation of the machines it uses and therefore, cannot be taken seriously.
“The Election Commission should give a machine to Arvind Kejriwal and let him prove it,” Mr Singh said, backing Mr Kejriwal.
Mr Singh said that the Congress and other opposition parties are correct in trying to field a joint candidate for President of India. The government is about 25,000 votes short, but will find that gap easy to close through regional parties. Mr Singh said that it’s worth the effort even if the opposition does not have the requisite numbers because it will help found a strategy for a collaborative front against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next general election in 2019. He also said that the PM should reach out to the opposition to find “a person who is above politics.” This, he said, would require Mr Modi to drop an “I’m better than you mindset.”
He also said that the parties that the government will try to win support from may prove to be tough customers. “Don’t be so sure (of BJP getting the numbers). The Shiv Sena is not very happy, the BJD is not very happy, the AIADMK is not very happy.”
Mr Singh also defended his recent allegation that the police in Telangana has launched a fake ISIS website to trap young Muslim men who express their interest in jihad and are then arrested. A police case has been filed in Hyderabad against him for his remarks, but he defended his premise, claiming, “I have my own sources in the Home Ministry and police.”
His stand has upset the Telangana government at a time when the Congress could use the ruling party’s support for the Presidential contest.