Summary:
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 14 (PTI) With the process for electing the new Congress president round the corner, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh has batted for "consensus" in selecting the new AICC chief and sought to uphold the "prominence" of the Nehru-Gandhi family in the organisational matters in any sort of emerging situation.
Ramesh, the AICC general secretary in-charge Communication, Publicity and Media, said even if somebody else is elected as the party chief in the October 17 polls, Sonia Gandhi will continue to be a person "everybody looks up to" and insisted Rahul Gandhi will be the "ideological compass" of the grand old organisation.
He rejected the suggestion the Wayanad MP will do "backseat driving" in the event of somebody else being a Congress president, hailing the Gandhi scion as a very accommodative and democratic person.
A party without a "high command" would be "anarchy," he said.
In an interview to PTI, the former Union minister also opposed a section of Congress leaders" argument against its high command culture, claiming that there will be anarchy in a party without such a mechanism.
To buttress his arguments for a unanimous election of the new AICC chief, Ramesh invoked the "view" of legendary Congress leader K Kamaraj, which according to him, is "talk to everybody and find a suitable consensus choice" for leading the party.
"In the history of the Indian National Congress, generally we"ve selected people by consensus.
But there had been elections -- in 1938, 1950, 1997 and 2000.
But my view is that of a broad consensus--the Kamaraj view.
I belong to the Kamaraj school," said Ramesh, a key Congress strategist, as the Rahul Gandhi-led "Bharat Jodo Yatra" reached near Kollam district in Kerala.
The notification for the election will be issued on September 22, while the filing of nomination would begin on September 24 and continue till September 30.
The election, if there is more than one candidate, will take place on October 17, while counting of votes, if necessary, and the declaration of results would be on October 19.
When asked about the argument of a section of party leaders including Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor that a democratic contest for the Congress president"s post will revitalise the Congress, Ramesh said if a consensus is not possible "we should have elections".
"Mr Tharoor is welcome to contest.
It"s democratic process.
We are the only political party which has elections to the post of President." Ramesh also took an indirect dig at Tharoor and the leaders who argue for organisational reforms and election to the party president"s post, terming as "unrealistic" the thinking that the Congress or any other party in India should be run along the lines of Labour and Conservative parties in the United Kingdom.
"It is being unrealistic.