Won't forget Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, if elected chief: Mallikarjun Kharge

Chandigarh, October 12

“If elected Congress president, I will not forget the affection and contribution of the Gandhi family to the party,” said Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge during his visit to the city today

“What matters is what work I do as the party president. I will not forget the affection of Sonia Gandhi. I will not forget the work done by Rahul Gandhi for the party in six states. His contribution to Bharat Jodo Yatra can also not be ignored…,” said the former Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha while replying to a question about the Gandhis. He was addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan here.

Attacking the Modi government, he alleged, “We had a majority in six or seven states, but our MLAs were intimidated or poached. The BJP is out to destroy democracy and the Constitution. It has weakened and misused autonomous bodies. Modi has money and muscle power, but he is not my model. My model is Gandhiji, Nehruji, Ambedkarji and Abdul Kalamji.”

He told the reporters that if elected the party chief, he would work with the support of the collective leadership of party men. “I will follow the Udaipur Declaration. Preference will be given to 50 per cent of the people, who are under the age of 50,” he added.

Senior Congress leaders Parmod Tiwari, Gaurav Vallabh, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Deepinder Hooda, Pawan Bansal, Raja Amrinder Warring, Udai Bhan, Partap Bajwa, Chander Mohan, Harish Choudhary, Bikram Sharma were also present, said city Congress president HS Lucky.