Rahul Gandhi disqualification: Priyanka to look after party leadership after brother, mother out of race

With Sonia Gandhi forced to ‘sit idle’ by her illness and Rahul Gandhi virtually ‘out of circulation,’ the rudderless party leadership is expected to look at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the sheet anchor.

This may prove a blessing in disguise for the Congress with the rank and file more than enamoured of her political demeanour and persona, often likening her to Indira. All this while, Priyanka, too, had preferred navigating from the backseat, not wanting to trespass into Rahul’s space as the numero uno. But all that may change now with the sister stepping out on the front foot to ‘avenge’ the wrong done to her elder brother.

DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!: Gandhi to Modi

In a searing attack on PM Modi, Priyanka Gandhi on Friday accused him of “trying to finish” India's democracy. “Narendra Modi, your sycophants called the son of a martyr prime minister a traitor and Mir Jafar. One of your chief ministers raised questions about who Rahul Gandhi's father is,” she said.

“In line with the custom of Kashmiri Pandits, a son wears a turban after his father's death, keeping his family's traditions alive. But you insulted the whole family and the Kashmiri Pandit community in Parliament and asked why he didn't keep Nehru as his surname. But no judge convicted you. You were not disqualified from Parliament,” Priyanka said.

“Rahul, like a true patriot, questioned Adani's loot, raised questions about Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. Has your friend Gautam Adani become bigger than the country's parliament and the great people of India that you were shocked when his loot was questioned?

“You call my family a dynast. But this family has irrigated India's democracy with its blood, which you are trying to finish. This family raised the voice of the people of India and fought for the truth for generations. The blood that runs in our veins has one specialty - it has never bowed before a coward, power-hungry dictator like you and will never do. Do whatever you want,” Gandhi concluded.