Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra today put to rest the speculation over her contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Rae Bareli, saying her mother Sonia Gandhi would again be in the fray from the Parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra today put to rest the speculation over her contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Rae Bareli, saying her mother Sonia Gandhi would again be in the fray from the Parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
Rae Bareli is currently represented in the Lok Sabha by outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who passed on the mantle of the top party post to her son Rahul Gandhi today.
There is a speculation in the media over Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra assuming an active role in politics to assist her brother, Rahul Gandhi.
The speculation arose after Sonia Gandhi indicated her "retirement" yesterday.
The Congress had, however, clarified that Sonia Gandhi was only retiring as the Congress president and not from active politics.
"There is no question of me contesting (the 2019 polls)...My mother will contest from there (Rae Bareli)," Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra said after Rahul Gandhi assumed charge as Congress president at an event at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here.
She also lauded her mother, calling her the "bravest" woman for overcoming huge difficulties during her record 19- year tenure as the Congress chief.
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi (from Amethi) are the only two Congress representatives from Uttar Pradesh in the current Lok Sabha.
Soon after taking charge as the Congress president, Rahul Gandhi today launched a frontal attack on the BJP, accusing it of spreading hatred and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taking India back to medieval times.
Gandhi said the BJP is "fighting for itself", while the Congress is "fighting for everyone" in the country.
The Congress chief said he wanted the party to be an instrument of dialogue with people from all corners of the country, "all religions, all ethnicities, all ages and gender and for our dialogue to be led by love and affection".
He lamented that politics "was being used today to crush the people and not lift them up".
"The BJP is spreading hatred and communalism... They break, while we unite. They ignite fire, we douse it," Gandhi said.
"The Congress took India into 21st century, while the prime minister today is taking us backwards to medieval past when people are butchered because of who they are, beaten for what they believe and killed for what they eat," he alleged.
"This ugly violence shames us in the world," he said in his first address to party men after taking over as the Congress president.
47-year-old Rahul Gandhi took charge of the Congress in the presence of his mother and outgoing president Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, her husband Robert Vadra, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other senior party leaders.
Reaching out to the youth, he said as "it is stated that the Congress is a grand old party we will make it a grand old and young party... We will fight all hatred with love."
Rahul Gandhi said the Congress party is like a family to him and vowed to take it forward.
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