The Week India - July 29, 2018

36 THE WEEK • JULY 29, 2018

THIS WEEK, MEET...

IN A WEEK when the prime minister

attacked Rahul Gandhi for reportedly

describing the Congress as a ‘party for

Muslims’—comments the party has

called “fake”—the Congress president

also announced his new working com-

mittee. Senior Congress leader Ran-

deep Surjewala, who is in charge of the

communication and media strategy of

the Congress, talks about the party’s

2019 strategy and these controversies.

Edited excerpts:

Reconstituting the Congress Working

Committee was Rahul Gandhi’s fi rst

major decision after taking charge

of the party. Th ere are some younger

inductees, but the average age of 23

members in the CWC is 68.

Rahulji always said that Congress party

will have space for experience. Why

should we disregard our senior leaders

who have acumen and experience?

And, unlike Modi who chose to disre-

gard people like Lal Krishna Advani,

Murli Manohar Joshi and many others,

because they are politically unsuitable

to him, Rahul Gandhi does not throw

away people.

How do you respond to the omission

of senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh

or C.P. Joshi, or prominent faces like

Shashi Th aroor or Jairam Ramesh

from the CWC?

Making the CWC is always an exercise

which will have some omissions, some

additions. Ultimately, it is the discre-

tion of the Congress president to utilise

everybody. For example, Shashi Th aro-

or already heads the All India Profes-

sionals’ Congress. So he is somebody

Randeep Singh Surjewala

Politician

Rahul Gandhi is the natural

person to lead the federal front

BY BARKHA DUTT

who already has a role inside the party.

As a young generation Congress

leader, aren’t you frustrated that

there are some veteran leaders who

refuse to go away gently and cede

that space?

People will have to take a call them-

selves. Some people will cede the

space, some people will continue to be

utilised. For example, P. Chidambaram

has immense value in terms of expe-

rience and acumen that he brings not

only on economic issues but on many

other political issues. Why should the

Congress party let him go?

Is that also an assertion that in the

cases that his son is facing, the party

is putting its weight behind him?

Majority of the Congress leaders are

being haunted by Prime Minister Modi

with a view to seek revenge. Let the

judicial process take its own call. Not a

single allegation has even been prima

facie established against Chidambar-

am. It is a completely malicious exer-

cise on account of a personal vendetta

that Modi has.

Recently, a media report came out

that Rahul Gandhi had allegedly or

reportedly said the Congress is a

party for Muslims. Defence Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman attacked the

Congress saying ‘from janeu dhaari

to Muslim dhaari’. Th e Congress

appears very defensive. Why not just

say that the Congress does speak for

all, including Muslims?

Th e publication in question was started

by the RSS that was later transferred

to a newspaper group. Th ey printed a

fake news deliberately and maliciously

to serve the agenda of the BJP and

the RSS. What Rahul Gandhi said is

that the Congress is a party of Hindus,

Sikhs, Muslims, Parsis, Buddhists, and

even those who don’t believe in any

religion.... We believe the minorities

are an important ingredient to the

Indian identity. We will represent every

section or people, that is what we say.

Rahul Gandhi is a Shiv bhakt. But, that

doesn’t deter him from protecting the

rights of minorities.

You described him as janeu dhaari,

before the Gujarat elections, and you

spoke about his religion. It seems to

me that Congress is struggling with

this issue and is trying to be Hin-

du-Lite to take on BJP’s hindutva?

What is Hinduism? Forget about the

BJP’s version of hindutva. Hinduism is

when I am able to practise my faith. If

I am able to practise my faith, I should

not be hiding it. If a particular section

of liberals feel that practising my faith

or following my rituals makes me illit-

erate, then they are actually doing what

the BJP is doing.

So, you don’t regret that janeu dhaari

comment.

Absolutely not.

But, that is a caste-related ritual.

I got married in a particular fashion.

I cremate my dead in a particular

fashion. You may call it a ritual. But, it

is also a tradition in this country which

has gone back generations. What is

wrong with it? I am very proud of the

fact that my Hinduism permits me to

protect your faith, and your right to