Rahul Gandhi not being allowed to function independently: Digvijay
Darpan News Desk IANS, 25 Feb, 2015 11:54 AM
Congress party vice president Rahul Gandhi "feels very strongly" that he is not being allowed to function independently by "vested interests" in the party, said Congress party general secretary Digvijay Singh Wednesday.
In an interview with Headlines Today, Digvijay Singh said Rahul Gandhi was "not running away" and he is "made of sterner stuff".
Digvijay Singh said that Gandhi had held consultations on the future roadmap of the Congress before going on leave. He acknowledged that he was surprised when he learnt about the latter's leave, adding he came to know about it from journalists.
Asked if Gandhi was frustrated at not being allowed to function freely within the party, Digvijay Singh said: "I'm not sure of that, only he can answer. One thing I know that he feels very strongly that he is not being allowed to function independently."
When asked who was stopping him Singh said "the party itself", adding: "Vested interests in the party."
He discounted any difference between party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, saying they had a good bonding but they were different in their thinking due to the age gap, a feature which exists in all families.
Digvijay Singh also mentioned Congress workers in Delhi were more disillusioned with Rahul Gandhi than their colleagues from other units in the country.
"Time has come for him to aggressively come out on issues. He should be seen more. People want to know what Rahul Gandhi stands for. What is Rahul Gandhi's development strategy for the country," he added.
Battle lines were clearly drawn in Bihar Monday as Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, expelled from the ruling JD-U, sought to prove his majority on the floor of the assembly even as his predecessor Nitish Kumar staked claim to form the government and accused Manjhi of "horse-trading".
The tide has turned so much so that today a growing number of Catholic priests from India travel to, stay on and settle in the United States to minister to the needs of the faithful there.
Protests erupted in Haryana's Rohtak town Sunday after details emerged of the barbaric manner in which a mentally-challenged Nepali woman was raped and murdered and how Haryana Police and the state government failed to show any action being taken.
A day after exit polls predicted an AAP win in Delhi, its visibly relaxed leader Arvind Kejriwal Sunday watched a Hindi movie as the BJP insisted it was still confident of winning the election with wider national ramifications.
Emphasising on the need to empower the states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday called upon states to forge a model of "cooperative federalism" to resolve differences even as he flagged poverty as India's biggest challenge.
