Congress President Election An Internal Poll Between Two Brothers Who Are 'Not Fighting': Kharge

The former leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha said there was no pressure on anyone and whoever was supporting him, was doing so happily.

Kharge, while interacting with the party delegates also said he would implement the Udaipur declaration of the party if he gets elected.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said his contest with Shashi Tharoor for the post of party president was aimed at putting forth their viewpoints for the betterment of the country and the party, as reported by the news agency PTI. Kharge said this during an interaction with party delegates at Congress office in Srinagar, where he sought their support for the AICC presidential election.

“This is an internal election. It is like two brothers at home, who are not fighting, but placing their points of view and trying to persuade each other,” PTI quoted Kharge as saying

The Congress party veteran also said that the election campaign was not about what a particular candidate will do if he becomes the president of the party, but what they can do together.

“My belief is... What I will do is not the question. The question is what we both will do together for the country and for the party, this is important. Let us not talk about whether I will do this or that, or talk about someone else. How will you (party workers) and me together make the party stronger, save the country’s constitution and its democracy, that is the question,” PTI quoted Kharge as saying.

"Today, the country’s atmosphere is deteriorating and we have to make it stronger by peace and unity. That is why Bharat Jodo yatra is on,” he added.

The senior Congress leader, while interacting with the party delegates, also said he would implement the Udaipur declaration of the party if he gets elected.

“If I get an opportunity, then I will try to fully implement the Udaipur declaration, because you have made the declaration after deliberations and placed a few things before the party, the country. I will try to take that forward and will take you along,” PTI quoted Kharge as saying.

“It is important to take everyone along. I will take everyone’s advice and find solutions to the problems by discussing with PCCs and others… It is collective leadership,” he added.

The former leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha said there was no pressure on anyone and whoever was supporting him, was doing so happily. He also maintained that Rahul Gandhi was the only option if the party has to become stronger and more powerful.

“When I met Madam (Sonia) Gandhi, I told her if the party has to become stronger and powerful, then there is no option other than Rahul Gandhi because he fights on the roads, in the Parliament, and now he has vowed to walk 3500 km and he has walked three states,” PTI quoted Kharge as saying.

“It is his commitment. He is walking on the roads and not taking decisions in an AC chamber. Thousands and lakhs of people are joining. This Bharat Jodo yatra is about uniting the thinking of the people of the country and not about dividing them,” he said.

The Karnataka MP also responded to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s charge that the Congress only talks about dividing the country as he said that if the country is prospering today, it is because of the Congress party. “Our leaders have given so much to the country,” he said.

Kharge alleged that it was Shah’s habit to talk about dividing the country and not uniting it everywhere he goes. He also asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah helped in getting the country its independence, as reported by PTI.

(With PTI Inputs)