Priyanka is charismatic but Rahul Gandhi is Congress leader: Jairam Ramesh

Zee Media Bureau/Tarun Khanna

New Delhi: Union Minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said that inadequate communication from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s office may have adversely affected UPA-II. In an interview to a TV channel, Ramesh said, “The Prime Minister should have spoken more. We couldn`t give an apt reply to the allegations made against us. All senior leaders of the Congress should have spoken more.” Moreover, while drawing comparisons between Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ramesh said that she was charismatic and communicated well, but Rahul was the Congress leader. “It`s Priyanka`s decision on what role she would take in the party in future” said Jairam. Refuting the claims that people want to know Congress` PM candidate, he said that they merely want to know which political party they should vote for and which is coming to power. He further added that Rahul has been going from state to state while Priyanka is campaigning in only two states. On Rober Vadra issue, Ramesh said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has made it clear that it is part of political campaign and her family is being targeted. Calling the book by former media advisor to the prime minister Sanjaya Baru, a `fictional bestseller`, Ramesh said that it is was a dishonest and immoral book and he wouldn`t prefer to comment on it. On the personal front, Ramesh said he has crossed the age of 60 and believes in term limits, IANS reported. “There needs to be fresh faces in the party. I must create conditions where youngsters come. It`s not about retirement. We should have been able to create a system in which newer faces and ideas come in the system. I have seen some of our candidates... they are young, dynamic," he added. Jairam had earlier said that whether the Congress wins or loses 2014 General Elections, there would be a generational change in the party after elections.