Rahul Gandhi's comments do not mean his is disinterested in being a PM: Ambika Soni

NEW DELHI: Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi’s recent statements labelling suggestions of him being a prime ministerial candidate as “irrelevant” do not mean that he is disinterested in the job and will not take it up, senior Congress leader Ambika Soni has said.

Soni, a former cabinet minister now entrusted with organisational duties, told ET in an exclusive interview that Gandhi’s concerns were more fundamental and in any case his comments should be viewed in the context of where they were uttered. “I haven’t spoken to him about the remarks. But I don’t think he means I will never be PM. He has simply said it is an irrelevant question. He is talking about problems that are more fundamental – like how to take the country forward,” she said. “My understanding as a political observer, a political activist for over 40 years, is that he has never said he won’t take up the job.”

Soni’s remarks chime with those of another senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who in an interview to ET last month said Gandhi’s remarks had been misconstrued by the media. She also brushed aside criticism of the Congress vice-president and Gandhi family scion for talking like an “outsider”.

“Why call him an outsider? He is taking cognisance of the issues that are of national importance since he has taken centre stage. And then people say he is talking down. He is sharing his concerns. He is bringing a lot of aspirations to the table,” she said, adding that BJP’s criticism of Gandhi was proof he was rankling them.

Soni, who has long been considered close to the Gandhi family and is also a member of the Congress Working Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, indicated that the party’s face would be finalised before the next elections, much like how it was in 2009.