Rahul Gandhi not a factor: BJP
By IANSTuesday, February 16, 2010
INDORE - Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi “is not a factor” of concern for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as he could not influence voters in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh where the Congress lost badly, BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar said Tuesday.
Addressing newspersons here a day before the start of the three-day party convention, he said: “Rahul Gandhi is not a factor. He went to Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh before the assembly elections there. You know the results. Where was this Rahul factor?”
Referring to Gandhi’s tour across the country to woo the young to the Congress, Kumar elaborated on the BJP’s youth-oriented programme.
He said: “We have a lot of youth leaders including party president Nitin Gadkari. We have a lot of programmes against the policies of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Our young leaders will lead from the front.”
Ananth Kumar reiterated that BJP did not support the Shiv Sena’s tirade against north Indians.
“When we talk of terrorism, it’s about cross border terrorism. The BJP has already clarified its stand. Each inch of land belongs to Indians.”
