Uttar Pradesh Congress president Raj Babbar on Saturday said Rahul Gandhi was the party’s natural prime ministerial candidate though the people of the country would decide on who would be their next prime minister after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Participating in a question and answer session at Hindi daily Hindustan’s annual summit ‘Shikhar Samagam’ in Lucknow, Babbar said the 2019 polls would not be against any individual “but the people would cast their vote to save the country.”
“All political parties, institutions and individuals that love the country will come together to save it,” he said.
When pointed out that the grand alliance, which was being planned against the BJP, had no common leader to lead it, Babbar retorted by saying that during the ‘Quit India Movement’ all the leaders were in jail but the Britishers had to quit the country.
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“This became possible because people of the country wanted them to quit,” he said.
When reminded that despite being the country’s oldest party, the Congress had ended up being the junior-most grand alliance partner in UP, Babbar said the Congress in UP would act as cement to strengthen the wall (alliance).
{{/usCountry}}When reminded that despite being the country’s oldest party, the Congress had ended up being the junior-most grand alliance partner in UP, Babbar said the Congress in UP would act as cement to strengthen the wall (alliance).
{{/usCountry}}“The Congress is not a heap of bricks but the cement without which bricks cannot make a wall,” he said.
Talking about the Rafale deal, he alleged it was the country’s biggest-ever defence scandal committed by a nationalist government (BJP government at the Centre). He, however, did not give a direct response to the question if there was any parallel between the Rafale and the Bofors deal.
On the question of a better GDP, as being projected now, Babbar said the ground realities did not support the claims on the higher GDP. The weakening of the Indian rupee, vis-à-vis the US dollar, and soaring prices of petrol are just two examples of the bad shape of Indian economy, he added.
Responding to a question as to how he continued to lead the UP Congress despite the party winning just three of 403 assembly seats in 2017, he said personally he felt he should have resigned then owing the responsibility. “But my party chose to give me one more chance and I will not belie my party’s expectations,” he said.