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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday his government will work for the poor, improve the lot of the weaker sections including Muslims, curb price rise, take all political parties along in its march to progress and seek to change India's identity from "scam India" to "skill India" .
A study by an international team using satellite and ground-based instruments has shown that crop residue burning, a common practice in northern India and particularly in Punjab, is contributing to atmospheric pollution over the entire Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) that may have climate and health implications.
The BJP-led NDA government, which has affordable housing for all as one of its objectives, will study the Gujarat model of housing for poor, Union Minister of Housing and Poverty Alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu said here Tuesday.
A Delhi court Monday awarded life imprisonment to 17 of the 18 policemen convicted of killing a 22-year-old MBA student in a fake shootout in Dehradun in 2009.
The bodies of five engineering students were retrieved Monday from the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district while a search is on for 21 others who were washed away. A court described it as "consequence of utter and callous negligence".
