Amid the talks of poll strategist Prashant Kishor joining the Congress, senior party leader, and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Harish Rawat has said that he can join as a member but cannot insist about the particular manner of party functioning after joining.
Rawat, who was speaking at an Idea Exchange session of The Indian Express, said the party cannot be “mortgaged” to a certain person or certain individual, irrespective of his capability, reported the publication.
“Anybody who is an Indian citizen and who has faith in certain values of the freedom movement and the Congress can become a member (of the party). So can Prashant Kishor. We are always open to new ideas. But the party cannot be mortgaged to a certain person or certain individual,” Rawat said.
He called Kishor a “very, very capable person” but added that the party cannot say that, ‘Baba, now you do some work on our behalf, we will stop working’.
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Rawat said that the party has a very democratic method of working. “Everybody has a role to play. If Prashant Kishor feels he can play an important role through Congress, he is always welcome. But he will abide by our constitution, our tradition… that is also very clear in our mind,” he was quoted as saying.
Asked if he meant that Kishor should join primarily as a member, Rawat said that the party could gain from his expertise but it has a method and he has to adopt that. “First, he has to become a member… then things will start rolling and we will find a suitable position for him, suitable task… because a man like Prashant Kishor… we will not keep him waiting for some job… But he should first join the Congress, then he should try to inject his views or inject how he wants the Congress to work,” he added.
This comes few days after Kishor hit out at the Congress, saying those looking for its quick revival in the wake of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident are in for a big disappointment as there are "deep-rooted problems" in the grand old party.
"People looking for a quick, spontaneous revival of GOP-led opposition based on the Lakhimpur Kheri incident are setting themselves up for a big disappointment," the poll strategist said on his Twitter handle on October 8. "Unfortunately there are no quick-fix solutions to the deep-rooted problems and structural weakness of the GOP," he said, in a message to Congress.
Kishor's criticism of the Congress came after he held talks with its leadership over his possible induction into the party. He had also met former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and there was serious talk over his entry into the grand old party.
(With inputs from PTI)
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