Will become Prime Minister if allies want me, says Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Oct 5: Congress President Rahul Gandhi Friday said he will become prime minister if allies want him but the first step is for all parties to get together and defeat the ruling BJP.
It's a two-stage process and a decision on who will be prime minister comes second, Gandhi said.
"We have had discussions with allies and what we decided is that this is a two stage process stage -- one is to get together and defeat BJP and stage two is, once the election is over then we will decide what happens," the Congress president explained.
Probed further about the possibility of him becoming prime minister, Gandhi said, "If they (allies) want me, sure... I will."
The Congress chief, who was speaking at the HT Leadership Summit, answered questions on a range of issues, including his temple visits and the RSS.
Gandhi said he has been going to temples, gurdwaras and mosques for years, but the issue of his visits to temples has suddenly been publicised.
"I guess BJP doesn't like it. It infuriates them. BJP feels only they can go to temples, he said.
He said he has developed a thick skin. He can understand criticism and is not disturbed by it. "My response is to listen."
"Leadership is an evolution. It is something which is constantly changing and you learn. At least in my evolution, I am going much more into listening to people and trying to understand them," Gandhi said.
He added that while he does not see India in blocks, he believes every Indian is a stakeholder.
Taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS, Gandhi said a single, suffocating ideology is being imposed upon 1.2 billion Indians. "The ideological centre that is fighting the BJP can only be the Congress," he said.
"I am ready to take criticisms and questions. Why can't the prime minister do the same. India desperately needs healing and listening and all sections want it," he said.
Asked about the difference between his leadership style and that of his mother, Sonia Gandhi, the Congress president said,"I have learnt a lot from her, she has taught me to be patient. I used to be much more impatient. She tell me how to be patient, sometimes I tell her she is too patient."
"She goes by gut feeling and I go by thinking," Gandhi said.
He added that he now listens more, like his mother.
Replying to a question about whether there is anyone special in his life, Gandhi smiled and replied that he has a lot of special people in his life, like his mother and sister.
He also attacked the government on various fronts, including demonetisation, foreign policy and governance.
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.
NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
