Sonia appreciates Rahul work,he says lots more to be done

While there is a clamour in the party for a bigger role for AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi following a turnaround in the partys fortunes....

While there is a clamour in the party for a bigger role for AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi following a turnaround in the partys fortunes in the Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh,Congress president Sonia Gandhi hinted today that she was not planning any change in the Amethi MPs work profile.

He already has big responsibilities. He is building up the Youth Congress. He has brought new people into the Youth Congress and is training new people, she told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony. Her remarks came as she was trying to make her way through the crowd of people surrounding Rahul,standing barely two metres away.

Let me also listen to him, said a smiling Sonia trying to look over the shoulders of reporters to overhear her son. As his attention was drawn to his mother,Rahul said: She is trying to make sure I dont say anything wrong.

Story continues below this ad

Rahul apparently has his eyes set on the next Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and also on Bihar,where the party has shown signs of revival during the period following the break in its ties with regional parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Lok Janshakti Party. My real success will be when these states (Bihar and Uttar Pradesh) get back on the road, he told reporters.

Stressing the need for a fundamental change in Uttar Pradesh rather than a place in the Cabinet,he said that in the past 20 years only caste and religion had been on offer in the state and nothing had come out of it. That is not something that takes two days. We have been working at it silently for five years. You will see the results in the next three years (in Assembly elections), said Rahul.

Asked about no minister from Uttar Pradesh getting Cabinet rank,Sonia quipped: MoS kafi nahin hai (Isnt Minister of State enough)? There are two MoS with Independent charge. She noted that the Congress had got only 21 out of 80 seats in the state.

Rahul said that through activities of the NSUI and Youth Congress,he had learnt a lot of things in Punjab,Gujarat,Puducherry and some other states. Asked when he planned to replicate the Punjab and Uttarakhand model (of internal elections in the National Students Union of India and the Indian Youth Congress) in Uttar Pradesh,the young Congress MP said that Uttar Pradesh was a big state,and might need staggering (of such elections). He would move to Uttar Pradesh after completing the process in a couple of other states.

Story continues below this ad

Asked if the process of democratisation initiated by Rahul could be replicated in the Congress,Sonia said: He has started the process in the Youth Congress. Till now it is doing quite well. Lets see.

Questioned over the perception that the Congress treatment of allies smacked of arrogance,Rahul said: In politics,you cant be arrogant. I dont think we are arrogant at all. Sticking to principles doesnt mean we are arrogant.