By IANS,
New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will lead the party in the 2014 general elections but he is not running for any post, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Sachin Pilot said Saturday.
“The Congress has not once said that Rahul Gandhi is the prime minister in waiting. He is not running for any particular post. Rahul Gandhi does not need to. He does not need any projection,” Pilot told the Headlines Today news channel.
He also took a dig at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his ambition of becoming Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate in 2014.
“Rahul Gandhi is deeply rooted to the reality of Indian politics. He does not believe in marketing or issuing press statements which Mr Modi is very good at,” Pilot said.
When participants in the show questioned Rahul Gandhi’s lack of administrative experience, Pilot retorted that it cannot be a disqualification for the top executive job in the country.
“Chandrashekhar became prime minister without being a minister and chief minister. Rajiv Gandhi also became a PM without any prior experience, and his five years in power saw many revolutionary changes in IT sector and panchayati raj institutions,” he said.
Pilot also praised Rahul Gandhi for introducing many changes in the Youth Congress.
“The sort of internal democratisation of the Youth Congress as brought about by Rahul Gandhi was not something anyone had thought of. It was earlier just nomination. It was just pick and choose,” said Pilot.
When asked about his chances of becoming his party’s prime ministerial candidate, Pilot said: “I don’t aspire to be the prime minister. I know my worth.”