Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday said that Rahul Gandhi may take over as Congress president shortly after Diwali. He stressed that a lot of organizational changes are underway and the time has come for the party vice-president to lead from the front.
Pilot, who is a close confidant of Gandhi, said that the elevation has been in the pipeline for a long time. He said the general sentiment in the party is that the time has come for Gandhi to take charge. “To my mind, there is a general sentiment in the party that he should take over as the party president,” Pilot told PTI in an interview.
Pointing out that Gandhi had been handling “a lot of work” as the vice-president, he said the party believed “this (Gandhi’s elevation) should happen in due course and the time has come for it to happen”.
He also said the last names of leaders should not be treated as a disqualification in politics. “It was the performance of a leader that ultimately decided his worth, as a surname could only take him so far,” he said.
Asked if Priyanka Vadra should also enter active politics, the former minister said, “Though she belongs to the Congress party, whether she should join active politics or not is her personal decision".
On the issue of dynastic politics and accusations that the Congress promoted dynasties, Pilot said belonging to a political family might help someone initially but it could not guarantee progress unless backed by performance.
“Belonging to a family that has been in politics should not be treated as a disqualification," he said. Ultimately, he said, success depended on performance. "If you perform and win the hearts of people through work, delivery and performance, then it will decide. The mere last name will only take you so far,” said Pilot, who is the son of late Union minister and Congress heavyweight Rajesh Pilot.
He brushed aside BJP criticism that the Congress was promoting dynasties, pointing out that several people in that party too were from political families.
“The BJP should introspect. Many of their leaders are also from political families,” he said. Pilot added he neither promoted nor denounced dynastic politics, but sought to stress that individual calibre would eventually decide success.
“It (family) should not be the only reason to bring someone into public life. No one can be thrust upon the public and there is no short cut to hard work,” he said.
Asked if the time had come for a generational change in the Congress and for the old to make way for the young, the Rajasthan Congress chief said, “It is not a question of making way; it is a question of working together. The cut-off date system did not work in politics,” he added.
Unlike the BJP, which he claimed humiliates its elders, the Congress uses their wisdom and moves together, he said. “I believe we should have a good mix between the old and the new while one must keep changing,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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