Rahul Gandhi lacks consistency: Sharad Pawar's unflattering assessment of Congress leader

Taking a dig at the leader of his party's ally in the Maharashtra government, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday commented on Rahul Gandhi's credentials as a national leader and said that he seems to lack "consistency" to some extent.  According to news agency PTI, Sharad Pawar, however, took exception to Barack Obama's similar assessment of the Congress leader.

'There are some questions in this regard'

The NCP Supremo was being interviewed by Lokmat Media chairman and former MP Vijay Darda. When asked if the country was ready to accept Rahul Gandhi as a leader, Pawar said, "There are some questions in this regard. There seems to be less consistency."

Obama, in his recently published memoir, said that the Congress leader appeared to be like a student eager to impress the teacher but lacking aptitude and passion to master the subject. Asked about this, Pawar said it was not necessary that we should accept everybody's view. "I can say anything about the leadership in our country. But I will not talk about leadership in another country. One should maintain that limit...I think Obama crossed that limit," he said.

Asked about the Congress's future and if Rahul Gandhi was becoming a "hurdle" for the party, Pawar said the leadership of any party depends on what kind of acceptance he or she has within the organisation.

"Though I had differences with (Congress chief) Sonia Gandhi and the family, even today Congressmen have a sense of affection for the Gandhi-Nehru family," the NCP chief, who quit the Congress over the leadership issue two decades ago, said.

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'We are not the key decision-maker'

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had sparked a controversy earlier this year when he said that his party was merely supporting the government in Maharashtra and was not a key decision-maker. 

At a virtual press conference, Gandhi was asked about the Covid-19 situation in Maharashtra, to which he said, "I would like to make a differentiation here. We are supporting the government in Maharashtra, but we are not the key decision-maker… We are decision-makers in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Puducherry. There is a difference between running the government and supporting it."  All three alliance partners were, however, quick to say that his comments had been misconstrued.

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