Kolkata: Senior Congress leaders should now act as “mentors and not tormentors” and the party should ensure that young leaders take over the reins before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, party leader Jairam Ramesh has said.
He said the Gujarat Assembly poll results was an indication that the party was making a comeback and observed that Rahul Gandhi is a “full-time politician” post-Gujarat.
“The old people in the Congress should now act as mentors and not tormentors. These are the people who can advise, guide. They have seen the world and have a role in Parliament, but you have to get younger people too.” he told in an interview.
The former Union environment minister was in Kolkata to attend the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet.
Asked if senior leaders in the party should bow out before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he said, “There are young leaders like Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gaurav Gogoi, Sushmita Dev, we should protect them.”
Lauding the performance of his party in the Gujarat assembly elections, Ramesh said the results were a sign that the party is making a comeback.
“We have made a big comeback in Gujarat with 41 percent votes. Gujarat has been the first sign of revival and there is no doubt about it. The party should have formed a government in Goa and Manipur too. We could not win the polls due to under-the-table dealings of the BJP,” Ramesh said.
“Rahul Gandhi, post-Gujarat, is dramatically different from Rahul Gandhi pre-Gujarat. He is now a full-time politician,” Ramesh said.
“Rahul Gandhi’s campaign was good, the organizational campaign was good. I expect the party to do well in Karnataka assembly polls. I also don’t see any reason why we cannot form a government in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (where assembly polls are due this year),” he asserted.
Admitting that the Congress had faced a “serious crisis” after the 2014 Union elections, he said the party should try to bring together all secular and progressive forces, this time, to counter the BJP.