Congress President Sonia Gandhi brushed aside criticism over giving ticket to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the Lok Sabha elections, saying that he was "not debarred" from contesting polls.
"The decision (to field Chavan in polls) was taken by the Central Elections Committee. As far as we know, Chavan is not debarred from contesting elections by any law," she said addressing a press conference for the release of Congress election manifesto.
"I will answer the question," Sonia Gandhi said as a reporter asked Rahul about the contradiction between his tearing up the ordinance on convicted lawmakers and raising anti-corruption issues while giving ticket to Chavan (in Nanded), whose name had cropped up in the Adarsh Housing scam in Maharashtra.
Chavan had quit as Chief Minister in 2010 after his name surfaced in the Adarsh Housing scam. Late last year, when the State Government rejected an inquiry report in the scam that had indicted Chavan, Rahul Gandhi intervened to force the State Cabinet to reconsider its decision.
Rahul was asked whether he agrees with the statement of the Prime Minister about two months back that Modi's coming to power will be "disastrous" for the country.
Replying, the Congress vice president said, "the PM is a wise man and on most of the issues I bow to him. I tend to agree with his wisdom."
He went on to add that it was an issue of an "individual" but the "ideology which is questioning the idea of India.
Individuals may have personal likes or dislikes but the real danger is the ideology."
Rahul along with Sonia Gandhi debunked the opinion polls which project a dismal show for the Congress.
"I frankly don't have much faith in the opinion polls. In 2004 also, the story of Congress was over as per the opinion polls. In 2009 also, we were given no chance. But we got more seats. So, we cannot go 100 per cent by the opinion polls," the Congress president said.
Rahul also talked in the same vein, saying in 2009 Congress was projected to suffer badly and predicted NDA wave.
In UP, Congress was projected to get 5 seats (but it got 22 seats).
"You did not believe us then. When the results come (this time), you will be surprised," he added. .