His comments came three days after Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma said that the 2014 Lok Sabha elections will be Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi.
Amid indications of a "larger role" for Rahul Gandhi in Congress before long, party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi today said that BJP was bothered by the "leadership of new generation emerging" in Congress.
He also took a veiled dig at the opposition party's poster boy Narendra Modi, who is being projected by a section of BJP as its prime-ministerial candidate for 2014.
"Those who cross the age of sixty consider themselves young seeing their elders. Misconceptions in life are ok sometimes. They serve to maintain self-confidence but in politics, it is the new generation, which takes forward steps and in the Congress, the new generation is taking steps forward," Dwivedi said without naming Modi.
His comments came three days after Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma said that the 2014 Lok Sabha elections will be Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi. Rahul is 42 and Modi 61.
Dwivedi, however, sought to play down questions on whether he is suggesting that Congress will fight the next Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
"This could be a subject matter of astrology what you are asking. I am saying young leadership comes forward and that does not come forward only at the sight of elections. Youth leadership has been regularly emerging in Congress," he said.
The AICC general secretary also said the BJP is bothered about what will happen to them since a new leadership is emerging in the Congress.
"What is the meaning of coming foward. There is a system between the party and the government and nobody should interfere in between. If he (Rahul) is maintaining that dignity, it does not mean he is not discharging his responsibility. He does not discharge responsibility by making a show of it," the senior Congress leader said.
He was replying to a question on whether it's time Rahul Gandhi came forward to play an active role because these are stated to be tough times for Congress and UPA government.
A number of ministers and Congress leaders have advocated a "larger role" for Rahul in mainstream politics with the clamour gaining ground for projecting him as Congress' prime-ministerial candidate for 2014 general elections.
Verma had said that the next Lok Sabha elections will see a direct fight between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi.
"The government (at the Centre) will either be of Congress or Modi...If Rahul Gandhi is our candidate, then the election in 2014 will be Rahul Gandhi versus Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. No other party is in between," he had said.
There is a view in the AICC, too, that the projection of Rahul Gandhi as prime-ministerial candidate for 2014 will be to the advantage of Congress.
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