NEW DELHI: As the grand old party gets a non-Gandhi chief at the helm after nearly a quarter of a century, veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid asserted that the changes would not create any differences between the top leadership and the new president, and important decisions will be made in consultation with the Gandhi family.
In a high-stakes battle, 80-year-old party veteran from Karnataka, Mallikarjun Kharge, defeated Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor by a huge margin. Khurshid, one of the proposers of Kharge’s candidature, said that “Congress culture” is linked with the “Nehru Gandhi family” and the party will remain committed to it. “The presidential election doesn’t change the landscape in the manner in which a lot of people wanted to see a change. We wouldn’t give up on the leadership,” Khurshid told this newspaper in an interview.
On a question on Rahul Gandhi’s role after Kharge takes charge, Khurshid said that the election was held to decide the president, not the leader of the party. The leadership issue is yet to be settled, he said.
“The functions of the party will be hugely concentrated on the president because that’s the whole idea. But that doesn’t create a dichotomy, as far as leadership is concerned. I think the leadership issue is still there and will remain there. As the president’s tenure increases, I’m sure the attributes of leadership will grow. But that does not contradict the ground reality of having top leadership. That will remain, whatever they do,” he added.
While Rahul Gandhi’s statement that he will follow Kharge’s orders has evoked interest in many quarters, Khurshid said that important decisions will be taken in confidence and consultation. “Rahul Gandhi said that he will do whatever Kharge wants him to do. That’s the only statement that can be made. That’s the way that he can give importance to Kharge, and Kharge must have importance. But whatever happens, will be in confidence and in collaboration and consultation,” he said.
While detractors say that Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist, will be a rubber stamp, Khurshid says that the veteran leader will be a part of the decision-making. “Why does anybody need a rubber stamp? Decisions were always taken by the top leadership and they will be so. The leadership will work out their own working systems,” he said.
Talking about the poll, Khurshid said, “Tharoor is not even an undisputed leader in Kerala. But he has been a promising leader among hundreds of leaders that we have. However, Kharge has reached the top in the last 50 years,” he said. While Tharoor’s manifesto proposed to dismantle high command culture, Khurshid denied having any regimented high command. “The high command culture is the sense of difference and the sense of attachment we show towards our top leaders,” he said, adding that Tharoor will have a successful career within the party.