Congress president or not, Rahul Gandhi will always have pre-eminent place in party: Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday favoured a consensus for the post of the AICC chief and asserted that Rahul Gandhi will always have a preeminent place in the party irrespective of whether he is president or not as he is the acknowledged leader of the rank and fileSo far Rahul Gandhi has declined to take on the mantle of party presidency but may change his mind the former Union minister and Congress Working Committee member said just days ahead of the notification of polls to elect the AICC chiefIn an interview with PTI Chidambaram said there was no occasion for any controversy over the fairness and transparency of the party president polls and asserted that had central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistrys last statement on the concerns of some of the leaders come on the first day the matter would have stood resolvedUnderlining that it is not the practice of any political party to publish the roll of the electoral college he said the PCCwise electoral roll will be available for inspection at the office of the PCC concerned while the all India electoral roll will be available for inspection at the office of the AICCEvery nominated candidate will be entitled to a copy of the electoral roll Mr Mistry has since clarified these selfevident points and the MPs have said they were satisfied The matter is rested Chidambaram saidLok Sabha members Shashi Tharoor Manish Tewari Karti Chidambaram Pradyut Bordoloi and Abdul Khaleque had written to Mistry seeking clarity on the issue of electoral rolls to which the partys poll panel chief had clarified that anyone wanting to file nomination for the post of Congress president will be able see the list of the over 9000 PCC delegates at the AICCs central election authority office from September 20Also Read What excuses will BJP give for alarmingly deteriorating crime situation in Delhi ChidambaramP Chidambaram also asked if the media had raised such issues when the BJP or any other party held its party electionsI cannot recall Mr J P Nadda asking for the electoral roll or filing his nomination he saidAsked whether consensus or elections would be better for the post of AICC president Chidambaram said while election is the default option the better course and all parties follow this is to elect a national president by consensusIf my recollection is correct Mr Nadda and before him Mr Amit Shah Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Gadkari were all elected by consensus he saidOn whether Gandhi will heed appeals of party workers and leaders Chidambaram said he does not know the answer to that questionRahul Gandhi is the acknowledged leader of the rank and file of the party They want him to be the President of the party also So far he has declined He may change his mind the senior Congress leader told PTIAsked whether the Gandhi family will continue to occupy a place of preeminence in the party if a nonCongress president is elected Chidambaram cited the history of the Congress and pointed out that between 1921 and 1948 Mahatma Gandhi was the acknowledged leader of the Congress and afterwards Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi one following the other was the acknowledged leader of the partyApart from the Leader there were several persons who held the office of president of the party for one or two or three years There have been periods in Congress history when the Leader and the president was the same person there have been long periods when the Leader and the president were different persons he saidThe Rajya Sabha MP said that if Rahul Gandhi is elected Congress president he will be both leader and president but if he is not he will remain the acknowledged leader of the party and there will be another person holding the office of presidentRahul Gandhi will always have a preeminent place in the party Chidambaram assertedAsked if a nonGandhi family person will command the same respect and authority the senior leader said the office of Congress president carries with it a great tradition and history vast powers and huge responsibilitiesI am certain whoever is elected Congress president will rise to the occasion and command respect among the leaders and the rank and file of the party he addedThe notification for the Congress presidents election will be out on September 22 and the process for filing nominations will be held from September 24 to 30The last date for the withdrawal of nominations is October 8 and the election if required will be held on October 17 The results will be out on October 19 Talking about the partys Bharat Jodo Yatra that began on September 7 from Kanyakumari Chidambaram said that from what he saw in Tamil Nadu on the first two days and from what he has gathered from his colleagues in Kerala a large number of dormant Congressmen and women and sympathisers came out of their homes and joined the padayatra for short or long distancesMany hundreds more stood on the roadside and welcomed and cheered Rahul Gandhi and the yatris he saidIt means that the elephant has been awakened Thousands of people are hearing an ancient yet new message that this country cannot be allowed to be divided by hate or anger or communal conflict that love and tolerance and fraternity will unite the people of the country and that such unity alone can lay the basis for economic and social progress Chidambaram saidThis message is very different from the divisive and hatefilled messages that we have heard over the last seven years he saidChidambaram cited the lines from a poem written a hundred years ago by Tamil poet Subramania Bharati which translate to So that this country may arise as one come forward to do a great deed Come ComeAs this message resonates throughout the country it will certainly rejuvenate and revive the Congress he assertedOn the BJPs criticism of the yatra Chidambaram said the ruling party was not prepared for the kind of response that the yatra has evoked and alleged that its leaders were resorting to misinformation lies mocking 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