Finding something good Modi has done is like looking for needle in haystack: Salman Khurshid
New Delhi, Sep 1: Finding something good Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said on Sunday, days after some party leaders called for praising the PM whenever he does good work.
Khurshid also said the Congress has "very serious concerns" about how the country is being run.
His remarks come days after Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Prime Minister Modi's governance model is not a "complete negative story" and not recognising his work and demonising him all the time is not going to help.
Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Abhishek Manu Singhvi had also backed Ramesh over the remarks, saying the prime minister should be praised for doing the right things.
"From my point of view, it would be (like) looking for a needle in a haystack to find something good that he (Modi) has done," Khurshid told PTI in an interview.
On the remarks by Ramesh and other leaders calling for not demonising Modi, the former Union minister said he would not like to give "one on one" responses as it would create more confusion.
"He (Ramesh) has said what he had to say. Each one of us articulates things in a manner which is suitable (to oneself). As I said, for me saying something nice about Mr. Modi would be like looking for a needle in a haystack," he said.
Talking about the Gandhi family's role in the party going forward, Khurshid said it was a ground reality that they are the "fulcrum" of the Congress today.
"Irrespective of what the BJP might say, no matter what the results may have indicated, we still believe they (the Gandhi family) are head and shoulders high above most of us," the 66-year-old leader said.
On whether Sonia Gandhi assuming charge as interim Congress chief had put an end to uncertainty and infighting prevailing in the party, Khurshid said he hopes so.
The party workers were hoping that Sonia Gandhi would come back for good, but the indication she has repeatedly given is that it is a "very temporary holding operation,'' Khurshid said.
"I hope that there is a change of mind because the (party) people, although they were very eager that Rahul (Gandhi) continue as the president, are now absolutely convinced that she (Sonia Gandhi) must stay for the near future. It is still a little bit of an imponderable, what will happen, we will have to wait and watch," Khurshid said.
Asked if the considered opinion within the party was that Sonia Gandhi must stay on as Congress chief for a longer duration, he said she will apply her mind to this herself because in the absence of a Gandhi family member at the top, the party does have a very difficult time looking for an alternative.
"But when we say this, the opposition tries to question our democratic attitudes. That is extremely unfair because there is a genuine attachment, liking and allegiance to the members of the Gandhi family. I think we have a right to make our choice," he asserted.
He said the general feeling in the party was that she needs to stay on as party chief.
"But this is a matter in which you cannot express very strong feelings being part of the top echelons of the party because ultimately we must not appear like we are forcing our opinion on our leaders," the senior Congress leader said.
"We must respect our leaders' opinion, but we have already made it clear that we need her in these circumstances and we hope that she will hear our appeal," he said.
On the criticism by some that Sonia Gandhi becoming party chief was a step backwards from the promise of "young leadership", Khurshid said the Congress talked about young leadership because it had a young leader in Rahul Gandhi who is still around and will be around.
"But we don't owe it to the opposition (BJP) to do what they want us to do. We will do what we want to do. What we need is leadership that reflects the mood of contemporary India and leadership factors will include the factor of age, but it can't be only the factor of age," he said.
Asked if Priyanka Gandhi could be a suitable option as Congress president after Sonia Gandhi, Khurshid said he "can't be a judge of this".
"I think we are lucky that we have Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi. How this will play out, how they will team up etc. for future organisational efficiency, they will work out these things and if anyone of us is involved in giving advice where we are required to give advice, we certainly will," he said.
A few steps are an indication that that the Congress is putting its act together, he said.
Khurshid said it was not too late to get battle ready for polls in states such as Haryana and Maharashtra, but the Congress does not have the leisure to put its feet up as every minute counts.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UDF will have huge win in Kerala, NDA won't open its account: Cong leader Satheesan
Kochi (PTI): Senior Congress leader V D Satheesan on Friday expressed confidence in a huge win by the UDF, claiming it will make a clean sweep in five districts, and brushed aside speculations that the NDA will open its account in Kerala.
Satheesan, speaking to reporters here a day after the conclusion of the Assembly polls, praised the performance of the UDF leaders and workers during the election, saying it was the best ever he has seen in the last 30 years.
He said that his claims of the UDF getting over 100 seats is not a mere statement, but based on the work the front has done during the last five years to bring back all those who had left it in 2005 and as a result, there was a huge wave in its favour in the state.
The leader of opposition in the state assembly, who contested from the Paravoor constituency, further said that the Congress-led front also had a major social backing from minorities and marginalised groups in the society.
Besides that, there was an anti-incumbency feeling among the people who were disappointed with the LDF rule, he claimed and said that the UDF provided them with a hope and an alternative which no other opposition had done in the past.
"All these factors will contribute to a huge win for the UDF and it would not be surprising if we make a clean sweep in Malappuram, Wayanad, Ernakulam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts. That is a total of 43 seats," he said.
According to him, the polling percentage increased because the UDF got people added to the electoral list.
He also brushed aside the LDF remarks about a woman or youth CM, saying that "they can make such statements now as they know they cannot win".
"Otherwise, why did they campaign with Pinarayi Vijayan as the main factor. Why did they say a third Pinarayi rule will come?" he asked.
He also claimed that the LDF's decision to spend government money on its political campaign, by putting up hoardings and carrying out social media programmes to sway voters, has also backfired as people realised that their taxes were being wasted like that.
Asked whether the NDA will open its account, especially in areas where the UDF claimed the BJP-led front had made a deal with the LDF, Satheesan replied in the negative.
He said that as of now he does not see any chance of the NDA opening its account in the state.
