Contesting Cong poll as Gandhis are not in race: Kharge

October 08, 2022 21:25

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday expressed regret that none from the Gandhi family was running for the party chief's post and said he took the plunge on advice of all in the party.

As part of his campaign for the AICC presidential post, Kharge visited the headquarters of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee in Vijayawada.

Kharge said he played a long innings in Karnataka politics and contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 on the advice of current party president Sonia Gandhi.

"Election for the Congress president's post became inevitable as Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka refused to take it up. So I have jumped into the fray for the president's post on the advice of all in the party," Kharge told reporters after addressing the AP Congress leaders.

"I served as Union Labour and Social Justice minister," he said and also mentioned his tenure as Congress party leader in Lok Sabha.

Kharge said he would implement the Udaipur Declaration of offering 50 per cent of party posts to those below 50 years of age, if elected as AICC president. He also said 50 per cent of seats in the 2024 election would be given to those below 50 years of age.

He took exception to the labelling of party leader Rahul Gandhi's ongoing foot march as 'Bharat Todo (split) Yatra'.

"It is indeed Bharat Jodo Yatra. It is the BJP that is dividing the country in the name of castes and religion," Kharge lashed out.

Have BJP or RSS leaders sacrificed anything for the nation, he questioned and said it was the likes of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi who laid down their lives for the country.

Kharge arrived in Vijayawada from Hyderabad where he earlier canvassed support for his candidature to the top party post. From the airport, he drove to the state Congress headquarters Andhra Ratna Bhavan. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

IOC net profit halves in Q4 on fuel price cut, petchem woes

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Tuesday reported halving of its March quarter net profit largely because of losses in the petrochemical business and shrinking margin after it announced a pre-election fuel price cut despite rising input...

How India's T20 World Cup-bound players have fared so far in IPL

The likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav were automatic choices in India's T20 World Cup squad

10 Maoists killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh

Nine Naxalites, including three women, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in a forest along the border of Narayanpur and Kanker districts in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, state's Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said.

KKR's Rana suspended for one match, fined full match fees

In KKR's IPL opener against SRH on March 23, Rana committed two Level 1 offences under Article 2.5 of the IPL's Code of Conduct. He was fined 10 per cent and 50 per cent of his match fees for the two respective offences.

We enter their homes and kill terrorists: Modi

"During the Congress regime, the news headlines were of India handing over another dossier to Pakistan about terror activities. Some of our friends in media used to clap after such any such dossier was sent," Modi said at an election...