Rahul Gandhi is still 'captain' of Congress, no leadership crisis within party: Ashok Gehlot

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday said that Rahul Gandhi is still the "captain" of Congress and he will remain so in future too. Gehlot asserted that the party is not facing any leadership crisis and a final call on the appointment of a new Congress president will be taken by Congress Working Committee.

"Rahul Gandhi is the captain of the party and will remain so. There is no crisis within the party. Congress Working Committee (CWC) will take a final call on it but there is no leadership crisis," Gehlot told media.

The Rajasthan chief minister reiterated his claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the recently held Lok Sabha election on the basis of lies. "Narendra Modi indulged in the false campaign, misled people by proxy nationalism and hiding behind the forces," Gehlot was quoted as saying by ANI. "He even did politics in the name of religion. People are doubting EVMs also. So winning the election by these things is a different matter but we have seen the downfall of those who achieved heights. Modi has reached his zenith. Now, he is on a downward slope. He is getting exposed in the economy, in jobs. Farmers are unhappy," added Gehlot.

Gehlot lauded Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, Priyanka Gandhi, for her protest against the Sonbhadra firing, which had resulted in the death of 10 people. The Rajasthan CM noted that Priyanka has exposed the Uttar Pradesh government by protesting against Sonbhadra incident."In a democracy, it is the duty of the opposition to know about the pain of people. What was the reason behind it? What would have happened if she went there? Who stopped leaders of the ruling party will go there?" he asked.Priyanka took the right decision at the right time and this was appreciated by the entire country, he said.

Commenting on the ongoing political drama in Karnataka crisis, Gehlot said that it is sad to see that such kind of hooliganism is taking place in the state. "It is unfortunate that such kind of hooliganism is taking place in the country. You broke 12 MLAs in Telangana, you are indulged in horse-trading in Karnataka, in Goa you gave ministerial berth to those whom you called mafias when they were with the Congress," Gehlot said.

The senior Congress leader also congratulated ISRO for the launch of Chandryaan-2 mission and said that it is a big achievement for billions of Indians. "I congratulate our scientist over the launch of Chandrayaan-2. It is a big achievement. From the time, when ISRO was formed, it has taken 35-40 years for the country to reach this stage. The beginning that was made during the era of Indira Gandhi and Pandit Nehru...it is the result of those efforts that the country today is standing with countries of the world in space technology," Gehlot told ANI.