Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi speaking to Times Now's Arnab Goswami in a rare interview.
Asked in an interview why certain Congress leaders like Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler were facing court cases if the Congress government, indeed, tried to stop the 1984 riots, Rahul didn't respond directly, but eventually acknowledged that some Congressmen were probably involved in the riots.
Full text of Rahul Gandhi's first interview
Covering considerable ground in a detailed, freewheeling interview with Times Now, Rahul indicated his role in Congress's decision to support the Aam Admi Party, said he did not want to be formally named PM candidate because of his respect for the Constitution but expressed confidence about winning the polls.
After initially fending off questions on Modi, Rahul denied he fears losing to Modi, saying, "I have seen my grandmother die ... my father die ... there is absolutely nothing I am scared of." Rahul refuted the suggestion that Congress might already be knocked out of the 2014 contest, saying he is "reasonably confident" of winning the election and will, as vice president, accept responsibility if the party fails.
On being closely questioned about whether he agrees with Manmohan Singh's criticism of Modi for presiding over a "mass massacre", Rahul said, "The Gujarat riots took place, people died. Mr Narendra Modi was in charge of Gujarat at that point."
He responded to questions about Modi disparagingly referring to him as "shehzada (prince)" by critising BJP for concentrating powers in the hands of one individual. "I fundamentally disagree with that (the concentration of power), I believe in democracy ... I believe in giving power to our people. We have fundamentally different philosophies," Rahul said.
The Congress vice president came across as committed to the long term in politics and sought to counter the impression of being a reluctant politician, saying that he was "thinking deeply and in the long term".
He said his commitment to altering the existing closed door political system was why he is being attacked and said, "That's why I am attacked. I understand that. And frankly attack me all you want. Beat me to death. It is not going to stop me."
Rahul also shed light on Congress move to support AAP which has been strongly criticized by senior leaders like finance minister P Chidambaram. "I think as far as I am concerned that AAP won an election in Delhi and we thought we would assist them," he said, making it clear that the decision was cleared at the highest level in the party.
Asked if Congress would continue to support AAP if it goes against Sheila Dikshit in the CWG scam, Rahul said, "I have already said that regardless of who the person is, if there is an issue of corruption, the law should take its course."
Rahul appreciated AAP's ability to connect with people, saying, "They reached out to people in a particular way that was good, there are things that I don't think we should take away from them."
However, he vehemently denied that Congress was propping up AAP to check BJP, saying, "I think you underestimate the power of the Congress party, I don't think the Congress party could even do that if they wanted to", adding sharply, "I think questions about whether we have supported AAP or not supported AAP, frankly it is a ridiculous notion."
Though he evaded questions about why he was not acting against Maharashtra leader Ashok Chavan and Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh who are facing corruption allegations, Rahul said no one will be protected though a legal process cannot be short-circuited.
"What I will say is that in the Congress party anybody who does any act of corruption will be taken and punished ... (But) there is a legal process and that legal process should be followed," he said.
source - TOI
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