NEW DELHI: Sam Pitroda, a close confidant of the Nehru-Gandhi family and a Rajiv Gandhi aide, on Wednesday claimed that Rahul Gandhi is more intellectual and more of a strategist than his father Rajiv. Pitroda, who heads the Indian Overseas Congress, described both as “custodians of the idea of India”. He made the remarks in an interview with a news agency ahead of Rahul’s visit to the US next week.
Pitroda, who had worked with former prime ministers Rajiv Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao, Manmohan Singh, V P Singh, Chandra Sekhar and H D Deve Gowda, said Rajiv was a little more doer. “I had an opportunity to see many PMs from very close quarters but the difference between Rahul and Rajiv maybe is that Rahul is much more intellectual, and thinker, Rajiv was a little more doer. They have the same DNA, concerns and feelings for the people, genuinely believe in building a better India for everybody, and are genuinely simple people,” he said.
“Rahul is a strategist, more so than Rajiv was. They are products of different times... Rahul has gone through two big shocks, death of his grandmother and his father. So they have had different paths.”