Hyderabad, Dec 7 (PTI) Rahul Gandhi, who is poised tobecome the Congress president, has the capability to bringtogether other like-minded parties for a joint fight againstthe BJP, senior party leader M Veerappa Moily said today.
The former Union minister also said that the Congressvice president had acquired certain qualities of his greatgrandfather Jawaharlal Nehru and grandmother Indira Gandhi.
Moily rejected the criticism that the Congress indulgedin a "dynastic rule" within the party, saying that if RahulGandhi wanted to become the prime minister, he could have doneso (during the 2004-2014 UPA rule).
"Rahul is known for his humility and the other partieswould definitely cooperate with him, given his absolute sensein taking democracy, secularism and socialism forward," theformer Karnataka chief minister told PTI.
"He (Rahul) is more like a magnet to attract the parties,which do not believe in communal politics. Such parties willhave a natural tendency to go along with Rahul," Moily said.
"Apart from consolidating the Congress, he (Rahul) willensure that there is a proper understanding between all thelike-minded parties, an understanding to jointly fight thecommunal elements," he added.
The former Union law minister said Rahul had undergone alot of "trials and tribulations", gained experience ingovernance and strengthening the organisation and evolved as a"dynamic leader".
"He (Rahul) has acquired the qualities, particularly ofJawaharlal Nehru, his vision for the country, for secularismand socialistic ideas, with an excellent rooting in theheritage of the country which Nehru possessed.
"Rahul could have even become the prime minister or apowerful minister (during the UPA rule), but he preferred tostrengthen the organisation in a big way, which is a greatquality," the Congress veteran said.
"He is not like Narendra Modi who shot into the nationalscene suddenly," he added.
Moily said if the Congress indeed indulged in a dynasticrule, Rahul would have become prime minister long back.
"He is a democratically elected leader now. Do you seeeven an inch of a democratic path adopted by the BJP, whileelevating Amit Shah (to the post of party chief) or NarendraModi (to the post of prime minister)? No," he added.
Shah and Modi had "emerged" in a "dictatorialenvironment", unlike Rahul, Moily alleged.
Rahul also possessed the "toughness" of Indira Gandhi intaking firm and bold decisions, he said.
The senior Congress leader also rejected the suggestionthat the party was going through an existential crisis, sayingthat could never be the case.
"Even in 1977, when Indira Gandhi lost the (Lok Sabha)polls, everyone had said there was an existential crisis forthe party. But it bounced back within two-and-a-half years.
The Congress has such an inherent quality," Moily said. PTI RSNPRC.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.