In Tamil Nadu, leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the mass contact programme has been launched by the party to "undo the damage done by the BJP and the RSS" to India. "If it helps the Congress, then that's okay too," the MP from Kerala's Wayanad said, in response to a question if the 150 days long campaign would help in reviving the fortunes of the party.
With a 3,570 km-long foot march, the Congress aims to cover 12 states and two union territories in the next few months. The campaign - launched with an eye on the 2024 national elections - from Kanyakumari earlier this week aims to strengthen the party's grassroot-level connection. Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said the Bharat Jodo Yatra would help in “rejuvenation” of the Congress, in what was seen as an admission that the party is in a self-reflection mode.
The comments come weeks after veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the grand old party, blaming Rahul Gandhi for the internal mess that the Congress has been facing.
A crucial question that is being faced by the top leadership now is to choose the next party president. Gandhi, responding to a flurry of questions on Friday, also shared his response when asked if he would be the party chief again. The elections for the top post are slated for October.
"There is no confusion in my mind at all. Whether I become president (of Congress) or not will become clear when the elections for the president post take place. This Yatra has a political element to it. Obviously, because it's the Congress's Yatra. But I decided to join it because I believe in the ideology of the party. Hopefully, I would learn a couple of things about this beautiful country, and two-three months later, I would be a little wiser," Rahul Gandhi said in jest.
{{/usCountry}}"There is no confusion in my mind at all. Whether I become president (of Congress) or not will become clear when the elections for the president post take place. This Yatra has a political element to it. Obviously, because it's the Congress's Yatra. But I decided to join it because I believe in the ideology of the party. Hopefully, I would learn a couple of things about this beautiful country, and two-three months later, I would be a little wiser," Rahul Gandhi said in jest.
{{/usCountry}}He also sharpened his attack on the BJP. “The party (BJP) has taken control of all the institutions of this country. We're not fighting a political party anymore. It's now a fight between the structure of the Indian state and opposition. Frankly, the battle is going on between two different visions for a couple of thousand years now, and it will continue. There're two different visions of India, one vision is rigid, and controlling while another is plural and open-minded. The battle will continue,” he said.
The rival party, meanwhile, has questioned the purpose of the massive rally, saying the country is “already united”.
"There's not even a Re 1 scam allegation on the Modi government. We can't let the country get divided and we must work with unity to take it forward," Union Minister Anurag Thakur said.
(With inputs from ANI)