In a new book, Priyanka Gandhi agrees with Rahul that non-Gandhi should be Congress president

New Delhi, Aug 19: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has agreed with her brother and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, last year when he said that a non-Gandhi should lead their party, according to a new book.

The book, "India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next generation of Political Leaders" by US academicians Pradeep Chibber and Harsh Shah, also quotes Priyanka Gandhi as having said that the Congress should have its own path.

In the book, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Perhaps not in the (resignation) letter but elsewhere he has said that none of us should be the president of the party and I am in full agreement with him."

Reacting on this, a senior Congress functionary said that "a 15-month old comment of Priyanka Gandhi is being projected as a fresh interview".

Meanwhile, the Congress leaders recall that Rahul Gandhi had offered his resignation from the president's post at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on May 25, 2019, taking responsibility for the party's defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

However, Rahul Gandhi remained firm on his decision and posted a farewell note to his supporters on July 3 last year to put a stamp of finality on his resignation.

Later, in the CWC meeting, Rahul Gandhi slammed the veterans for "placing the interests" of their sons above the party, and also mentioned that some leaders had even lost the election from their strongholds even as he criticised a section of hankering for posts.

In the meeting, he also said that a non-Gandhi should be elected as the new Congress chief. In the same meeting, Priyanka Gandhi, while insisting that only one person could not be held accountable for the poll debacle, had agreed with her brother that a non-Gandhi should become the Congress president.

While Sonia Gandhi was in the group that interacted with the leaders from the eastern region of the country, Rahul Gandhi was in the group for the west. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was part of the group for the north, Manmohan Singh south and Ambika Soni for the northeast.

A section of the Congress, including Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, backed her for the post of the party president.

Priyanka Gandhi's response came when a party general secretary, in the course of the meeting, suggested that she should come forward and assume the leadership role.