Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday lamented the lack of internal democracy in political parties, saying party organisations needed to be democratised.
Gandhi made the remarks during an interaction with the students of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) here.
"Democracy has flourished in the country for a long time, but no political party paid heed to the concept of internal democracy. Frequent nomination of office bearers instead of election is the testament of the fact," said Gandhi.
The MP from Amethi also fielded questions from students.
Asked about the elevation of Manmohan Singh as the prime minister in 2004, he said: "He was not made the prime minister because he is a Sikh but because he was the most capable person for the post."
A girl student asked if India would ever get a Muslim prime minister, Gandhi replied: "You (the students) need to step up and be leaders."
In his speech, Gandhi called upon the youths to take to politics.
"The destiny of the country is shaped by the youth, hence they must fully participate in the political system," he said.
"Participation of people in politics is important... all of you have a vision and we need that," Gandhi said.
Gandhi is on a two-day visit to Uttar Pradesh to boost the membership drive undertaken to re-activate the Youth Congress.
He began his trip from Aligarh. He will also visit Etah, Hardoi, Lakhimpur-Kheri, Bahraich, Ambedkar Nagar and Sitapur.