Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi ought to be more assertive, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

By KR Balasubramanyam, Sowmya Aji & N Bhanutej

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that Rahul Gandhi should become more assertive and engage better with people while exhorting his Congress party to emulate the marketing prowess of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Siddaramaiah, 66, who is the only remaining Congress chief minister of a large state, also declined to ask for the entry of Rahul’s sister Priyanka to shore up party fortunes and said Congress President Sonia Gandhi should not be written off after one defeat.

“Some people are saying Rahul Gandhi should be more assertive and go before the people. Even I have given him the same suggestion,” Siddaramaiah told ET in an hour-long interview on Sunday.

Last week, Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh was quoted as saying the Congress vice-president needed to be more “hands-on”.

Congress’ woes have led to calls for Priyanka Gandhi to take a more active role in party affairs, but some observers say her husband Robert Vadra’s financial affairs — he has been accused of obtaining sweetheart real estate deals in Congress-ruled states — could make her vulnerable to criticism. But Siddaramaiah said Congress needn’t be defensive about Vadra, and in any case mere allegations did not make a person guilty.

“He (Vadra) is not even a member of Congress. BJP’s national president Amit Shah has a murder case against him, there are criminal charges against Modi’s cabinet ministers. There are allegations against Jayalalithaa, but how many times has she come to power after that? Allegations do not mean that people are guilty,” the chief minister said. Siddaramaiah, who rode to power in May last year after dislodging BJP, said Congress and Rahul Gandhi needed to remodel Modi’s marketing skills to suit themselves.