RAHUL GANDHI

Rahul Gandhi, who was declared the Congress party's chief campaigner for this year's looming electoral battle, today indicated his willingness to take up the country's top job if his name was approved by the elected representatives after the Lok Sabha polls. "In the Congress, elected MPs select the Prime Minister. If our party comes to power after the election and the MPs elect me, then I will definitely consider it," Mr Gandhi was quoted as saying by the news agency, Press Trust of India. The Congress vice-president, who is presently on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Amethi, was responding to a specific query whether he would be willing to shoulder the Prime Minister's responsibility. "To select a Prime Minister is the right of the MPs and it should stay with them. Selecting a nominee before polls is not a democratic culture, but part of a personality cult," Mr Gandhi said, and cited the example of Dr Manmohan ...

New Delhi: In the recent past, actor Salman Khan has been quite vocal about political developments in the country. After speaking about Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and after flying kites with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat, the actor has now praised Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. In converation with Prabhu Chawla in IBN7's 'Teekhi Baat', Salman said that every state in the country is equal and has equal importance. He also complimented the politicians and said that they were doing a good job in the country. He said that he liked Rahul as a politician and would be willing to campaign for him whenever his help would be required. "Modi does not need me in GUjarat. He is very popular," Salman said. Defending Modi, Salman said that he had seen the CM's popularity and support in the state and thus there was no need to campaign for him. "I like Rahul Gandhi. If he calls me I will definitely go to campaign for hi...

A day after Parliament passed the Lokpal Bill, hundreds of Congress workers led by senior party leaders today met party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi to greet him for his role in getting the anti-corruption measure become reality. Outgoing Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, newly- appointed PCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and his immediate predecessor in that post, JP Agarwal, were accompanied by the newly-elected eight Congress MLAs and former Delhi ministers as they called on Rahul. Senior party leader from Delhi, Jaikishan, said that the party workers had come to congratulate Rahul for the "key role" he had played in the passage of the anti-corruption law, which had been pending for decades. Security personnel had a tough time in controlling the Congress workers as they chanted slogans hailing Rahul and jostled to meet him.

Lashing out at non-Congress governments of Uttar Pradesh for "selling Ram, caste and religion" for the past 22 years, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi today asked voters to give five years to his party for development of the state. "These parties have looted your hard earned money, sold Ram, religion and caste...never talked about progress and development in the past 22 years," Gandhi said addressing an election meeting here. The Congress general secretary said that he visits other states marching ahead on the path of progress and see people of the state contributing and the lack of development is UP fills him with anger. Attacking the BJP for its India Shining slogan of 2004 and Samajwadi Party for embracing former BJP leader Kalyan Singh, he said that his party has stood alone and never embraced people like Kalyan Singh and would not do so ever. Stressing that he would not budge till the state's progress is in place, Gandhi said that there was...

SP's progressive face, Akhilesh Yadav carries an iPhone & talks development. The Samajwadi state chief assures Swati Mathur his party's aggressive image is a thing of the past & he is confident of forming the next govt Swati Mathur: How well are you prepared for the assembly elections? Akhilesh Yadav: SP was the first to declare candidates. We started campaigning early. Our message was consistent: We'd continue riding the rath and our cycle until we defeat BSP. I have toured over 170 constituencies and hope to cover at least 300. Apart from anti-incumbency , what other factors may work in your favour? SP has worked hard to expose the government's real face. We have grass-roots connect. We have raised issues that concern the common man. Electricity, corruption and lack of infrastructure , cheaper fertilizers, seeds and irrigation projects are issues we've fought for. This election is being projected as a Akhilesh vs Rahul battle. Is this hype? He may be th...

NEW DELHI: Smarting under Opposition attack over the issue of Lokpal Bill, Congress today insisted that the measure is not dead and will be back soon. "The Lokpal Bill is certainly not dead. It is not even in ICU or Emergency. It is merely under rest and recovery (R and R) and it will be back soon," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said. A political war has broken out between government and opposition over Rajya Sabha's failure to pass Lokpal Bill, with both sides accusing each of carrying out "well choreographed" chaos to scuttle it. The assertion by the Rajya Sabha MP, who headed the Parliamentary Panel that went into the Lokpal Bill, comes a day after Rahul Gandhi promised not to rest till a strong Lokpal Bill with constitutional status is brought. Addressing a rally in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh yesterday, Gandhi had hit out at the BJP for failure to give constitutional status to Lokpal. He insisted that this was not only his dream but that of the y...

Lucknow, Dec 28: In the wake of ongoing debate over Lokpal issue, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi blamed the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) for the defeat of Constitution Amendment Bill on Lokpal on Wednesday. Rahul was addressing an election meeting at Dharauhra in Lakhimpur on Wednesday. Reacting strongly over the defeat of constitutional amendment bill on Lokpal, Rahul remarked: "We (Congress) wanted to have a strong Lokpal which has constitutional status like Election Commission. But BJP did not want it so they defeated it on the floor." Rahul even claimed that BJP had earlier assured that they will besupporting the government on this issue. Rahul expressed surprise over the issue stating that senior BJP leaders were present in the parliament when voting took place and thus it was established that the action took place at their instance. Training his gun on CM Mayawati, Rahul alleged that she had earlier termed the Food Security Bill as a drama and was int...

SITAPUR: "Has Mayawati ever drunk water from a well in the past five years," asks Rahul Gandhi, rolling up his sleeves, the trademark style he has acquired before addressing a gathering. "No," roars the crowd in Sitapur, a town in central Uttar Pradesh, about 95 km north of Lucknow. "Is it not your right to get jobs in your own state," he asks and pauses for the crowd to answer. "Why do you need to migrate to other states for a livelihood," he asks again, sounding very much like a seasoned politician. Rahul, the tireless campaigner, has been a familiar sight these past four years. The Congress general secretary has hopped onto general compartments of trains, spent nights in huts and eaten with villagers, especially Dalits. But Rahul, the public speaker, has largely been in hiding. The Congress leader has been at best a hesitant speaker. That is changing. Rahul's new style of speech is as measured as it is aggressive. The crowds respond...

LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asked people to reject 'caste and communal' parties in the upcoming UP assembly elections and vote for the development. He promised if voted to power, Congress will develop the state in five years.  Addressing a rally in Kasganj, Kanshiramnagar, Rahul said: "Other parties make tall claims and promises. We made just one promise. We will bring a government that would be representative of all classes of society. For last 22 years, UP is being ruled by the parties which talk on caste and communal lines. The people of the state should give the Congress just five years, after giving other parties a chance for the past 22 years," he said.  Rahul said that UP chief minister Mayawati had on October 9, 2007 said that no one would benefit from MNREGA. "Go to Rajasthan, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. Even the poorest of the poor people would tell you what they have got from MNREGA. They ...

New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will be holding his first public rally in poll-bound Uttarakhand Friday, sources said. Gandhi, who has been aggresively campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, will address the rally at Parade Ground in Dehradun, the hill state's capital. Gandhi launched his party's election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in the country, from his grandfather and India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's Phulpur constituency Nov 14. Elections to assemblies in seven states in India, including Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, are scheduled for early next year.

RAMABAI NAGAR (UP): Rahul Gandhi said the country's telecom revolution ushered in by his father Rajiv Gandhi was authored by a "vishwakarma" , Sam Pitroda , introducing the technocrat as a poster boy of "most backward castes" (MBCs) and giving a final thrust to Congress's social engineering plank for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. In a short speech at a packed MBC rally, Rahul played the 'pride card' for sections struggling to find a place in the OBC monolithic that Congress thinks can help it slay backward champions Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav. Rahul said the cellphones in their hands were powered by a policy promoted by Rajiv Gandhi , but authored by a man (Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda), who is a "vishwakarma" by caste. "B a d a i h a i n w o h.... You can change the world but have been ignored and so you are backward," he said, stunning observers by his use of mascot and idiom in backward politics. The bu...

BADAUN, UP: Accusing Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav of playing caste politics, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday sought a change in power saying a "government of the poor" by Congress in Uttar Pradesh will change the future of the state. Gandhi, who is on the second day of his five-day trip in the Samajwadi Party stronghold, alleged Mayawati government was corrupt and the money meant for poor does not reach them. "Elephants normally eat leaves. But you have magic elephant in Lucknow which eats currency notes," he told a party rally here ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Seeking a five-year stint in power, he said corruption in UP government was affecting the future of the state as no employment opportunity is generated in the state. "UPiites have built roads in Maharashtra, they work in Kerala, they help the farmers in Punjab...but they do not have roads, electricity or water in their villages. Who built the Delhi Metro? Who is working in ...

Congress leaders and activists have warned social activist Anna Hazare to stop targetting party general secretary Rahul Gandhi with the backing of the opposition. "Hazare is attacking him (Rahul Gandhi) for weakening the Lokpal Bill to help vested interests tarnish his image. Congressmen will not tolerate this," said Congress Member of Parliament PV Hanumanth Rao. Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma said: "The opposition is scared of Rahul Gandhi and Anna has become their spokesperson, especially that of the RSS. Is he a laat sahab, let him come to UP (elections), we will see him there." He was reacting to Anna Hazare's comments against Gandhi. "Anna is trying to scare Congress but we are not afraid of him. If he is 75, then Congress is 125-years-old," Verma said. Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi said, "His (Anna's) word is not the one of Lord Brahma. Is he Satyawadi Harishchandra?, I do not agree with this." Cong...

Rahul Gandhi slammed the governments in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for Bundelkhand's backwardness, saying lack of development in the region was because of diversion of funds from central welfare schemes.  Continuing with his tirade against the Mayawati government for corruption, Rahul said the Centre had approved a development package for the parched region but the money was not reaching the cause of digging wells and building infrastructure as intended.  The attack, without naming the UP chief minister, comes after Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia's recent visit to Bundelkhand to review implementation of the special package. He had expressed dissatisfaction over the use of development money.  The focus on Bundelkhand is not new for Rahul, having put the region on the centrestage early in his political campaign against Mayawati's regime and having nudged the Centre to approve a Rs 7,000 crore package for development.  ...

In the backdrop of persistent reports that Rahul Gandhi may be elevated to the position of working president of the Congress, the party gave clear indications on Tuesday that his role would expand.  Without going into the specifics of the future position for Rahul, already a General Secretary, Media Department chief Janardan Dwivedi said that there was no suspense that he would have a bigger role in the party.  "There is no suspense about it. He has a role, which is increasing constantly. In natural course, his role will go on increasing. This is what Congressmen want and this is what in their opinion is natural. There is no doubt about it that Congressmen want his role to increase," Dwivedi, who is also General Secretary, told reporters.  The statement by Dwivedi came in the backdrop of speculation that the young leader could be made Working President in a month or two or it could be as early as November 19, Indira Gandhi's birth anniversary. One of the media rep...

To attract the youth of Jammu and Kashmir into the party fold, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will “appeal to them to join mainstream politics”, sources here said Sunday. The Congress leader will interact with students of Kashmir University in Srinagar Sep 26 to strengthen the ongoing membership drive of the party’s youth wing, Indian Youth Congress, which is expected to have elected representatives in a few months, sources said. The visit will also help the Congress general secretary better understand the issues related to youth in the border-state, said sources. “During his interaction with the students in the Valley, the Congress general secretary is expected to appeal to them to join mainstream politics,” said a senior Congress functionary. Gandhi will also address a public meeting in Kargil Monday. Later in the day, he will attend a convention of elected representatives of panchayats and meet the potential candidates of the Indian Youth Congress. “Rahul Gandhi wants to e...

Rahul Gandhi will visit earthquake -affected areas in Sikkim on Tuesday and meet victims and their families. Gandhi was scheduled to visit Meghalaya on September 21 for a public meeting of Youth Congress membership. But as the tragedy occurred on Sunday evening leading to casualties in Sikkim, the plan was modified. Gandhi will now visit Gangtok on Tuesday morning before attending the scheduled Youth Congress meeting in Meghalaya. Sources said the AICC general secretary will visit the state capital at 9:00am in the morning and meet the earthquake victims lodged in hospitals and homes. His Youth Congress membership meeting is scheduled at 11:30am at Mini Stadium, Ampathi in West Garo Hills District of Meghalaya. The death toll in Sunday's powerful temblor has shot up to 92, including 53 in the Himalayan state while more than 3,000 people have been rescued in quake-hit areas of Sikkim by defence forces so far.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi today faced an angry crowd which raised angry slogans against him when he went to meet the victims of the high court bomb blast at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. He reached the hospital in the afternoon and spent nearly half an hour with the victims and their family members. Gandhi sought to know from the hospital administration the nature of the injuries suffered by the victims in the blast. While leaving the hospital, the hostile crowd of relatives of the victims raised slogans 'Rahul Gandhi Sharam karo, Rahul Gandhi vapas jao'.