By VENKATESH KESARI
New Delhi, May 12: A day after his tactical retreat, Union HRD minister Arjun Singh on Monday walked the extra mile to project himself as a loyalist and hit back at his detractors within the party. "I am a loyalist, not a sycophant, and there is no need for me to give any statement on oath," the senior party strategist said.
He also said that AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi has the qualities to become Prime Minister. "Rahul Gandhi me pradhan mantri banne ki gun hain yah main maanta hoon," he said.
Mr Singh reiterated this at a time when AICC officials, and even some Union ministers from the Congress, publicly aired their views on Mr Rahul Gandhi’s capacity to become Prime Minister, ignoring the advice not to create an atmosphere of sycophancy.
The HRD minister was neither defensive nor demoralised by the attack by some "junior" Congress leaders for raising the issues of "loyalty" and the "need for wider consultations within the party". In fact, he virtually ignored comments by Mr R.K. Dhawan, Mr M. Veerappa Moily, Mr Ajit Jogi and others.
He dismissed suggestions that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was unhappy with him. "I have not felt like that. What can I say about a thing which has no basis," he said. He also denied that she had asked him to give up the key HRD ministry and take up a different charge. "She never spoke to me about it. Never," he said.
On his suggestion that Mr Rahul Gandhi has the capacity to become Prime Minister, Mr Singh clarified that it did not mean he was seeking the removal of Dr Manmohan Singh and making the young Gandhi Prime Minister right now.
Asked whether his statement meant that Dr Manmohan Singh should not be projected as the Prime Minister in the next polls, Mr Singh said it was for the party to decide on the issue when the elections come. "I am neither sad nor disappointed," Mr Singh said in the wake of the Congress giving signals that it was not entirely happy with him despite his statement on Sunday dismissing the controversies as "needless and irrelevant" and declaring it a closed chapter.
The HRD minister also hit back at his detractors when said leaders like Mr Ajit Jogi, whom he had brought into politics, were critical of his recent statements. "Don’t ask me for a list of my sins and good deeds," he said sarcastically. He said he has nothing but respect for such people.
