Calls for rejuvenation of Youth Congress in the state, sidesteps query on becoming prime minister.
On a mission to revive Congress in West Bengal ahead of next year’s assembly elections, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday it could be done by rejuvenating the Youth Congress (YC).
“Congress needs to be strengthened in West Bengal by rejuvenating Youth Congress the way it has been done in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,” Gandhi told YC workers in a closed-door meeting.
Gandhi, however, was guarded speaking about the ruling Left Front government in his three public meetings in the state during the day.
Mediapersons were not allowed to enter the venue of Gandhi’s meeting with YC workers. Birbhum district Congress chief Asit Mal later told reporters that the AICC general secretary exhorted Congress workers to step up YC membership drive. Gandhi also interacted with local YC leaders at Santiniketan’s Gitanjali Complex.
Gandhi, who is on a three-day visit to the state from Tuesday, has a mission to strengthen the state Congress.
But refrained from harping on the “under-development of the state under the Left rule”, which was his main point of speech at a public rally at Kolkata during his last visit.
After he attacked the Left Front government last time, CPI(M) politburo member and Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechuri had quoted the union government statistics to prove how the constituencies of Rahul and his mother Sonia Gandhi — Amethi and Raebareli - lagged behind even the most backward regions of West Bengal.
Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari struggled to counter Yechuri’s claims.
Gandhi, who many believe is being groomed for the country’s top political job, said becoming prime minister is not the only job in the world.
Later during an interaction with students at the Visva Bharati University, the 40-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family sidestepped a pointed query on him becoming the prime minister.
“If I will be the prime minister of India,” he said, and added
after a pause, “like that is the only job a person can do! There are many other jobs that a person can do.”
Saying the university should stress on fine arts studies, Gandhi told the students, “You can write to me or to the PMO with your suggestions on how to strengthen fine arts studies.”
With inputs from —PTI
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