Rahul Gandhi receives bouquets and brickbats on elevation

Rahul Gandhi's elevation received both bouquets and brickbats from political quarters with some leaders welcoming the new Congress President while others attacked him for being the symbol of dynasty politics.

Veteran actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan congratulated Rahul Gandhi and said he was sure Gandhi would work and deserve the admiration, like his elders.

"Congratulations Mr. Rahul.G. Your seat does not define you but you can define your position. I have admired your elders. I am sure you would work and deserve my admiration too. All the strength to your shoulders," Haasan wrote.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a congratulatory tweet said: "Congratulations Rahulji for this big responsibility and our best wishes for all your endeavours."

DMK Working President M.K. Stalin also congratulated on behalf of his party. "(I) Am confident that he will fulfill the aspirations and hopes of the people and restore the glory of secularism, socialism and federalism," he said in a tweet.

However, Janata Dal-United (JD-U), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar, described the new Congress President as "Vanshvad kaa naya avatar" (new incarnation of dynastic politics) and said there is hardly anything new about it.

"Rahul Gandhi is new incarnation of dynasty politics. What is new in it? Rahul Gandhi is just a symbol of dynasty politics as he succeeded none other than his mother Sonia Gandhi," JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said.

The BJP, however, remained mum on Rahul Gandhi's elevation but had a graphic representation of a survey on its official Twitter handle which compared the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, and described Modi as the "undisputed leader of India".

Modi had earlier described Rahul Gandhi's elevation as dynastic politics and a redux of "Aurangzeb raj". But he had also congratulated him after he was elected on Monday.

--IANS

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