He said Congress would win 14 seats of 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana . Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader Jaggareddy strongly countered Union Home Minister Amit Shah ’s remarks that Rahul Gandhi would never become Prime Minister, asserting that the BJP leader had no right to decide who could or could not occupy the country’s highest elected office.
He pointed out that after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Sonia Gandhi led the UPA to power and party MPs had expressed support for her and Rahul Gandhi to head the government. He said Congress leaders would work with determination to help Rahul Gandhi emerge as a national leader and claimed the party was capable of winning 14 of Telangana’s 17 Lok Sabha seats. He also highlighted welfare measures introduced during the UPA era, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, saying the programme had provided relief and livelihood support to millions of people across the country.
Addressing the media, Jaggareddy said the Prime Minister’s post was closely associated with the Gandhi family’s political legacy and recalled that Rahul Gandhi had opportunities to become Prime Minister but had chosen not to pursue the position. Taking strong exception to Amit Shah’s comments, Jaggareddy said the people of India alone had the authority to decide who should become Prime Minister. No one has the right to dictate the choice of voters,” he said. The Congress leader also accused the BJP of using the name of Lord Rama for political gains while failing to govern according to the ideals associated with the deity. Referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s devotion to “Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram,” he argued that reverence for Lord Rama existed long before the BJP came into existence.
However, the Congress leadership decided to appoint Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. Jaggareddy claimed that even after assuming office, Manmohan Singh had encouraged Rahul Gandhi to take up the top post, but Rahul declined and instead extended his support to Singh’s leadership. “If Rahul Gandhi wants to become Prime Minister, the people of this country can make him Prime Minister. Jaggareddy further maintained that Telangana remained a stronghold of the Congress and expressed confidence that the party would perform strongly in the next parliamentary elections.