Chidambaram badmouths Modi at Davos, bats for Rahul
23 Jan 2014 5:59 AM IST
He expressed confidence that Rahul Gandhi would be the prime minister if Congress comes back to power, saying the young leader has enough ‘fire in his belly’ for the post.
It was unlikely that any party would get majority and polls were likely to throw a ‘very very fractured mandate’.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting here, Chidambaram also took a dig at Aam Aadmi Party, saying there was no place for mob-democracy in India and the country was a party-based democracy where individuals cannot be bigger than a party. On BJP being ‘anti-muslim’, Chidambaram said some sections of Muslim people may have voted for BJP, as Narendra Modi himself claims, but the fact is that Modi has never fielded any Muslim candidate ever in any election in his state. ‘What does that mean?’ he wondered.
When asked why he has not joined the BJP, Chidambaram said BJP does not represent all sections of India and it does not even have presence in many parts of the country. ‘It has got policies that would destroy the very idea of India. Their’s is a blood-eyed economic model,’ he said.
Asked about the next PM, Chidambaram said, ‘Congress party is clear that if Congress is in a position to form a government it will be headed by Rahul Gandhi’.
Asked whether Rahul Gandhi had enough fire in his belly for the PM post, Chidambaram said: ‘There was enough fire in his belly when he spoke at the AICC (All India Congress Committee) meeting’.
Meanwhile, the finance minister said that unravelling of AAP has already begun within weeks of it coming to power in Delhi and it remains to be seen whether an ‘urban rejection’ of mainstream parties that was seen in Delhi elections would be replicated in other parts of the country.
‘One time that Mrs Gandhi stumbled and brought in an authoritative model that was at the time of Emergency, it failed and she had to go back,’ Chidambaram said.
In Delhi elections the rejection was for both Congress and BJP, he said, adding that one was ruling the state government and the other municipal bodies. ‘But it is just a few weeks and we are seeing an unravelling of the AAP,’ he said.
It was unlikely that any party would get majority and polls were likely to throw a ‘very very fractured mandate’.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting here, Chidambaram also took a dig at Aam Aadmi Party, saying there was no place for mob-democracy in India and the country was a party-based democracy where individuals cannot be bigger than a party. On BJP being ‘anti-muslim’, Chidambaram said some sections of Muslim people may have voted for BJP, as Narendra Modi himself claims, but the fact is that Modi has never fielded any Muslim candidate ever in any election in his state. ‘What does that mean?’ he wondered.
When asked why he has not joined the BJP, Chidambaram said BJP does not represent all sections of India and it does not even have presence in many parts of the country. ‘It has got policies that would destroy the very idea of India. Their’s is a blood-eyed economic model,’ he said.
Asked about the next PM, Chidambaram said, ‘Congress party is clear that if Congress is in a position to form a government it will be headed by Rahul Gandhi’.
Asked whether Rahul Gandhi had enough fire in his belly for the PM post, Chidambaram said: ‘There was enough fire in his belly when he spoke at the AICC (All India Congress Committee) meeting’.
Meanwhile, the finance minister said that unravelling of AAP has already begun within weeks of it coming to power in Delhi and it remains to be seen whether an ‘urban rejection’ of mainstream parties that was seen in Delhi elections would be replicated in other parts of the country.
‘One time that Mrs Gandhi stumbled and brought in an authoritative model that was at the time of Emergency, it failed and she had to go back,’ Chidambaram said.
In Delhi elections the rejection was for both Congress and BJP, he said, adding that one was ruling the state government and the other municipal bodies. ‘But it is just a few weeks and we are seeing an unravelling of the AAP,’ he said.
Next Story
