Congress president ballot: Jairam Ramesh bats for consensus; upholds ‘prominence’ of Nehru-Gandhi household
9 min readBy PTI
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the method for electing the brand new Congress president not far away, senior celebration chief Jairam Ramesh has batted for “consensus” in choosing the brand new AICC chief and sought to uphold the “prominence” of the Nehru-Gandhi household within the organisational issues in any kind of rising scenario.
Ramesh, the AICC basic secretary in-charge Communication, Publicity and Media, mentioned even when any individual else is elected because the celebration chief within the October 17 polls, Sonia Gandhi will proceed to be an individual “everybody looks up to” and insisted Rahul Gandhi would be the “ideological compass” of the grand previous organisation.
He rejected the suggestion the Wayanad MP will do “backseat driving” within the occasion of any individual else being a Congress president, hailing the Gandhi scion as a really accommodative and democratic individual.
A celebration with no ‘excessive command’ can be ‘anarchy,’ he mentioned.
ALSO READ | Bharat Jodo Yatra: Day after CPM jibe, Rahul extends keep in UP by three days
In an interview to PTI, the previous Union Minister additionally opposed a piece of Congress leaders’ argument towards its excessive command tradition, claiming that there can be anarchy in a celebration with out such a mechanism.
To buttress his arguments for a unanimous election of the brand new AICC chief, Ramesh invoked the “view” of legendary Congress chief Ok Kamaraj, which in line with him, is “talk to everybody and find a suitable consensus choice” for main the celebration.
“In the history of the Indian National Congress, generally we’ve selected people by consensus. But there had been elections–in 1938, 1950, 1997 and 2000. But my view is that of a broad consensus–the Kamaraj view. I belong to the Kamaraj school”, mentioned Ramesh, a key Congress strategist, because the Rahul Gandhi-led “Bharat Jodo Yatra” reached close to Kollam district in Kerala.
The notification for the election can be issued on September 22, whereas the submitting of nomination would start on September 24 and proceed until September 30.
The election, if there’s multiple candidate, will happen on October 17, whereas counting of votes, if obligatory, and the declaration of outcomes can be on October 19.
When requested concerning the argument of a piece of celebration leaders together with Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor {that a} democratic contest for the Congress president’s submit will revitalise the Congress, Ramesh mentioned if a consensus isn’t attainable “we should have elections”.
“Mr Tharoor is welcome to contest. It’s democratic process. We are the only political party which has elections to the post of President.”
Ramesh additionally took an oblique dig at Tharoor and the leaders who argue for organisational reforms and election to the celebration president’s submit, terming as “unrealistic” the pondering that the Congress celebration or another celebration in India needs to be run alongside the traces of Labour and Conservative events within the UK.
“It is being unrealistic. I think that the people who say this don’t understand the realities of India,” the senior Rajya Sabha MP mentioned.
Responding to a question on the rising demand within the celebration for electing Rahul Gandhi as AICC chief, Ramesh mentioned the previous Congress president was in a “peculiar position” on the matter and it was as much as him to determine whether or not to contest the polls or not.
“People are asking him (Rahul) now, why are you a candidate? Are you a candidate? At the end of the process of filing nomination, the same people could ask him why are you not a candidate? Mr Gandhi is in a peculiar position. It is up to him. I have no knowledge what he is going to do”, he mentioned, including that at the moment the main target of Gandhi and the celebration is on the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Ramesh mentioned when he had mentioned the issues of the organisational elections with Rahul Gandhi on two or three events, “he has always told me–why not have elections. why not people contest”.
“If people want to file their nomination papers, they are welcome to do so. He (Rahul) himself has said this– I welcome elections”, the AICC basic secretary mentioned.
Rejecting the arguments of Tharoor and some different members of the previous G-23 groupings on the necessity of decreasing or eliminating the “High Command” tradition within the Congress celebration, Ramesh mentioned each celebration has a excessive command and so they name it in several names.
“Do you think the BJP doesn’t have a high command? Do you think the CPI(M) doesn’t have a high command? Every party has a high command. Every party has a group of people who discuss, deliberate, decide based on various factors. A party without high command will be anarchy,” he mentioned.
ALSO READ | Not towards Bharat Jodo Yatra, CPM makes its stance clear
When requested who would be the Congress excessive command if a brand new president from exterior the Nehru-Gandhi household is elected as celebration chief, Ramesh mentioned these are hypothetical questions now however mentioned he was certain that each Sonia and Rahul will proceed to be revered and folks will look as much as them.
“Mrs Sonia Gandhi is a person everybody looks up to. She will continue to be a person everybody looks up to. Mr Rahul Gandhi is Member of Parliament and he is on a five-month-long Bharat Jodo Yatra. So he will be very prominent. He will be an ideological compass”, he mentioned.
Pressed additional, Ramesh mentioned Rahul Gandhi is not going to do backseat driving of the organisation within the occasion of any individual else coming to the helm of affairs.
“I do not see that. I feel circumstances have modified and Mr Gandhi is an individual with sturdy views on points. He can also be a really accommodative, very democratic individual. So is Sonia Gandhi herself. So I do not suppose that there’s going to be any friction. I do not suppose there’s going to be any rigidity’, he added.
ALSO READ | ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’: Digvijaya Singh, different Congress veterans present exemplary strolling stamina
His assertion got here because the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress has began energising the celebration employees.
“It is not Congress jodo yatra. It is Congress urja, bringing in new energy and enthusiasm. I think what we are trying to do is to provide the Congress workers at the block, district and state levels a sense of excitement”, he mentioned.
It was not a “small yatra”.
“It is entirely on foot and almost 3600 kms, 150 days. No political party has done this”, he asserted.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the method for electing the brand new Congress president not far away, senior celebration chief Jairam Ramesh has batted for “consensus” in choosing the brand new AICC chief and sought to uphold the “prominence” of the Nehru-Gandhi household within the organisational issues in any kind of rising scenario.
Ramesh, the AICC basic secretary in-charge Communication, Publicity and Media, mentioned even when any individual else is elected because the celebration chief within the October 17 polls, Sonia Gandhi will proceed to be an individual “everybody looks up to” and insisted Rahul Gandhi would be the “ideological compass” of the grand previous organisation.
He rejected the suggestion the Wayanad MP will do “backseat driving” within the occasion of any individual else being a Congress president, hailing the Gandhi scion as a really accommodative and democratic individual.
A celebration with no ‘excessive command’ can be ‘anarchy,’ he mentioned.
ALSO READ | Bharat Jodo Yatra: Day after CPM jibe, Rahul extends keep in UP by three days
In an interview to PTI, the previous Union Minister additionally opposed a piece of Congress leaders’ argument towards its excessive command tradition, claiming that there can be anarchy in a celebration with out such a mechanism.
To buttress his arguments for a unanimous election of the brand new AICC chief, Ramesh invoked the “view” of legendary Congress chief Ok Kamaraj, which in line with him, is “talk to everybody and find a suitable consensus choice” for main the celebration.
“In the history of the Indian National Congress, generally we’ve selected people by consensus. But there had been elections–in 1938, 1950, 1997 and 2000. But my view is that of a broad consensus–the Kamaraj view. I belong to the Kamaraj school”, mentioned Ramesh, a key Congress strategist, because the Rahul Gandhi-led “Bharat Jodo Yatra” reached close to Kollam district in Kerala.
The notification for the election can be issued on September 22, whereas the submitting of nomination would start on September 24 and proceed until September 30.
The election, if there’s multiple candidate, will happen on October 17, whereas counting of votes, if obligatory, and the declaration of outcomes can be on October 19.
When requested concerning the argument of a piece of celebration leaders together with Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor {that a} democratic contest for the Congress president’s submit will revitalise the Congress, Ramesh mentioned if a consensus isn’t attainable “we should have elections”.
“Mr Tharoor is welcome to contest. It’s democratic process. We are the only political party which has elections to the post of President.”
Ramesh additionally took an oblique dig at Tharoor and the leaders who argue for organisational reforms and election to the celebration president’s submit, terming as “unrealistic” the pondering that the Congress celebration or another celebration in India needs to be run alongside the traces of Labour and Conservative events within the UK.
“It is being unrealistic. I think that the people who say this don’t understand the realities of India,” the senior Rajya Sabha MP mentioned.
Responding to a question on the rising demand within the celebration for electing Rahul Gandhi as AICC chief, Ramesh mentioned the previous Congress president was in a “peculiar position” on the matter and it was as much as him to determine whether or not to contest the polls or not.
“People are asking him (Rahul) now, why are you a candidate? Are you a candidate? At the end of the process of filing nomination, the same people could ask him why are you not a candidate? Mr Gandhi is in a peculiar position. It is up to him. I have no knowledge what he is going to do”, he mentioned, including that at the moment the main target of Gandhi and the celebration is on the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Ramesh mentioned when he had mentioned the issues of the organisational elections with Rahul Gandhi on two or three events, “he has always told me–why not have elections. why not people contest”.
“If people want to file their nomination papers, they are welcome to do so. He (Rahul) himself has said this– I welcome elections”, the AICC basic secretary mentioned.
Rejecting the arguments of Tharoor and some different members of the previous G-23 groupings on the necessity of decreasing or eliminating the “High Command” tradition within the Congress celebration, Ramesh mentioned each celebration has a excessive command and so they name it in several names.
“Do you think the BJP doesn’t have a high command? Do you think the CPI(M) doesn’t have a high command? Every party has a high command. Every party has a group of people who discuss, deliberate, decide based on various factors. A party without high command will be anarchy,” he mentioned.
ALSO READ | Not towards Bharat Jodo Yatra, CPM makes its stance clear
When requested who would be the Congress excessive command if a brand new president from exterior the Nehru-Gandhi household is elected as celebration chief, Ramesh mentioned these are hypothetical questions now however mentioned he was certain that each Sonia and Rahul will proceed to be revered and folks will look as much as them.
“Mrs Sonia Gandhi is a person everybody looks up to. She will continue to be a person everybody looks up to. Mr Rahul Gandhi is Member of Parliament and he is on a five-month-long Bharat Jodo Yatra. So he will be very prominent. He will be an ideological compass”, he mentioned.
Pressed additional, Ramesh mentioned Rahul Gandhi is not going to do backseat driving of the organisation within the occasion of any individual else coming to the helm of affairs.
“I do not see that. I feel circumstances have modified and Mr Gandhi is an individual with sturdy views on points. He can also be a really accommodative, very democratic individual. So is Sonia Gandhi herself. So I do not suppose that there’s going to be any friction. I do not suppose there’s going to be any rigidity’, he added.
ALSO READ | ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’: Digvijaya Singh, different Congress veterans present exemplary strolling stamina
His assertion got here because the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress has began energising the celebration employees.
“It is not Congress jodo yatra. It is Congress urja, bringing in new energy and enthusiasm. I think what we are trying to do is to provide the Congress workers at the block, district and state levels a sense of excitement”, he mentioned.
It was not a “small yatra”.
“It is entirely on foot and almost 3600 kms, 150 days. No political party has done this”, he asserted.
