Ex-minister Beni Prasad Verma slams Rahul Gandhi's detractors

Without naming anyone, Congress leader and former union minister Beni Prasad Verma today criticized some of his party colleagues for criticising Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's leadership .

In a virtual snub to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the Congress leader said, "The presence of Rahul Gandhi in the Manmohan Singh Government would have undermined the authority of the then Prime Minister."

He expressed confidence that the Congress is learning lessons from its electoral defeat and that it will re-emerge. He vowed to speak against those who tell wrong things about the Congress vice president.

"Congress is learning lessons and Rahul Gandhi will emerge. In 2007, I joined the Congress under the influence of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Therefore, I will speak against whosoever will speak wrongly against Rahul Gandhi. I have no self interest. My habit of speaking upfront will not go away," he said.

Referring Rahul Gandhi as the future Prime Minister, Verma added, "Rahul Gandhi has campaigned the entire country. It is because of him that Congress was back in Karnataka, seats jumped in the 2009 elections. Senior leaders cannot criticize someone who is going to be the Prime Minister of this county someday,"

To a poser as to why the Congress vice president is being attacked by party leaders, Verma further added, "Because Rahul Gandhi is out of power.

Gandhi has been facing flak for his leadership obliquely from several quarters following his party's monumental defeat at the hands of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections this year.

Leaders like Digvijaya Singh have reportedly made observation that the party vice-president should have been more visible and vocal. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan while listing out the reasons behind Congress debacle in the Lok Sabha polls had cited Rahul Gandhi not being a minister in the Manmohan Singh government as a possible reason for the party's defeat.