Cong should think upon till when they will run as family shop: Poonawalla

Reacting to the remarks made by Congress leader Lakshman Singh that he does not regard Rahul Gandhi as a prominent leader, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Sunday said that it is time for Congress to reconsider itself as 'family' shop.

Poonawalla interpreted Singh's remarks as indicative of the growing skepticism within the Congress party's internal ranks.

"Congress leader Lakshman Singh says why is Rahul Gandhi being highlighted as he is just an MP. Maybe he is telling all this to the Congress party. Even though Mallikarjun Kharge is the Congress president, but for Bharat Jodo Yatra or any Yatra Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is chosen. When the name of Kharge was proposed by few other parties it was rejected by Congress. First, the people showed their disbelief and now the internal party members are expressing the same," Poonawalla told ANI.

"It is time for Congress to think till when they will run itself a family shop and till when people will prefer family over the capabilities of its leaders," he added.

Earlier today, Lakshman Singh, who is also a former Congress MP, came after a reporter at a press conference in Guna was questioned on his views on Rahul Gandhi not being highlighted much on TV when Waynand MP makes a statement in the Lok Sabha.

"Rahul Gandhi is just a party worker. He is just an MP, apart from that he is nothing. You (media) people too should not highlight Rahul Gandhi so much, nor should we. No one becomes a great leader by birth, one becomes great by his/her actions. Don't consider Rahul Gandhi such a great leader, I don't," he said.

He further stated that the status of Rahul Gandhi is equal to that of other parliamentarians, stating, "Rahul Gandhi is an MP. He is just like other Members of Parliament. He is just an ordinary MP."

Lakshman Singh, a five-time MP and three-time MLA, expressed his perspective on who should be called a leader as he emphasized the importance of accomplishments over inherited status while terming any MP as a leader.