Interacting with party MPs from Rajasthan,Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi lamented the growing trend in states,where the bureaucracy was driving the government and the media driving the bureaucracy,according to sources. Days after disapproving the "high command culture" in the party,Rahul Gandhi today said that chief ministers are imposed from above unlike in the past. He made the remarks in the lengthy meeting held at a time when the Assembly elections are not far away. Talking to some of the MPs on Tuesday,Rahul also gave signals that he was against the 'high command culture',saying he wants to empower more and more people than a handful,who call the shots. The 42-year-old leader had told the MPs in no uncertain terms that the organisation was his priority and he was preparing for a long haul. There were some light moments during the interaction today with Rahul noting that a number of the Rajya Sabha MPs from Rajasthan belong to other states,to which some of the Rajashtan-based leaders responded saying "we embrace all". The meeting also saw some complaints that the central ministers do not listen to them and so is the situation in the state,where the state government is also not bothered about the MPs. Some MPs complained to Rahul that due weightage is not given to party MLAs as far in implementation of development schemes in their areas. Gandhi,however,told MPs to "forget internal differences" and concentrate on strengthening the organisation. A Union minister,who attended the meeting said that Congress should focus on increasing its vote share. Rahul,who spoke at length in the meeting directed the leaders to intensify public campaign and strengthen the party at the village level. He had earlier held similar interactions with party MPs from Tamil Nadu,Haryana,Madhya Pradesh and Goa since the Budget session began. He is visiting Uttarakhand tomorrow,where he will held meetings with office bearers of district and block Congress committees. This will be second such meeting of Rahul in states after he held a two-day interaction programme in Odisha last month to get feedback from the grass roots. He had given the message of "go to the grass roots" to AICC office-bearers yesterday during the interaction at the party headquarters. He had also asked the AICC secretaries to visit districts more often and stressed on coordination at all levels in the party.
