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Congress fumes as RJD leader takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi in Bihar
Earlier in November, Tiwary, an outspoken leader, had attacked the Congress for its poor show in the Bihar assembly polls and targeted Rahul for vacationing in Shimla amid the electoral battle even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a dozen rallies.
Cracks have appeared in the relationship between the Congress and the RJD in Bihar after senior RJD leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Shivanand Tiwary once again took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said that “he (Rahul Gandhi) is unable to inspire confidence in the public”.
This is the second time in two months that Tiwary has targeted Rahul Gandhi leaving the Congress fuming.
Earlier in November, Tiwary, an outspoken leader, had attacked the Congress for its poor show in the Bihar assembly polls and targeted Rahul for vacationing in Shimla amid the electoral battle even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a dozen rallies.
Rahul Gandhi addressed only eight rallies throughout the three-week long poll campaign for the three-phase election, which ended on November 7.
“Rahul Gandhi has never shown any inclination to possess traits of a full-time political worker. He’s unable to inspire confidence in the public. A section of Congress party has vested interests and supports Rahul Gandhi for party’s national president,” said Tiwary, RJD’s national vice president and advised Congress president Sonia Gandhi to overcome “putra moh” (weakness for her son) in deciding her political successor.
“This statement is uncalled for and unwarranted. This is not expected from a leader of an alliance partner. I will request Tejashwi Yadav to take note of the statement and remove Tiwary from the party who is speaking the language of the BJP. His statement has created great resentment among Congress leaders. We will wait and see what action Tejashwi Yadav takes,” said senior Congress leader and MLC Premchandra Mishra.
Not only that, Tiwary also slammed Congress general secretary and Bihar in-charge Randeep Surjewala for his claim that that almost 100 per cent of party members want Rahul Gandhi to be the party president.
“It is not right to put out such numbers before any actual elections and this undermines the democratic principles of an institution,” said Tiwary.
However, the RJD leader admired the “spirit of sacrifice” demonstrated by Gandhi in 2004 when she chose not to become the prime minister despite having the mandate.
“I had a chance to meet Sonia Gandhi first when Lalu Yadav was a member of the Union cabinet. I was struck by the serenity on her face. She had revived her party which was left by Sitaram Kesri in a bad shape,” Tiwary said.
“The choice before Sonia Gandhi today is not between her son and the party but her son and democracy itself. The Congress, which even now is more potent than any regional party, is capable of taking on a hegemonic BJP. But Rahul Gandhi has always come across as an “anichhuk” (reluctant) leader. He simply cannot inspire his supporters,” Tiwary said.
The Congress won only 19 seats out of 70 seats it contested. A section of the RJD, preferring anonymity believes that the Congress was responsible for non-formation of the government in Bihar.
Tiwary clarified that his opinion about Congress is not with any malafide intention. “We want the Congress to get stronger. Today, democracy is in danger especially the way civil liberties are being curbed and democratic voices are being suppressed in the country under the BJP rule. But I feel the Congress is not making any concerted effort in this direction,” he said.
