Aligarh, December 08: In the news for past several months for visiting Dalit bastis and endemically poor villages of the country, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday called on the students and faculty of Aligarh Muslim University, creating a ripple with his statement, “Merit is the only password for the top job in the country, religion is no qualification.”
The Amethi MP told AMU students, “What will clinch the issue of one’s suitability (for PM) is one’s competence. Other factors are not just secondary, but insignificant. India could well have a Muslim premier not because he is from a particular community, but because he or she passed the capability test handsomely.” He said this in response to a question by an undergraduate who wanted to know how long it would take for India to have a Muslim ‘Wazir-e-Azam’ (PM).
Beginning his 35-minute session with a polite query about the language they wanted him to speak in, Rahul settled for the preferred mix of Hindi and English. The students were initially diffident but warmed up to set an informal tone. Even girls, who usually steer clear of politics at AMU, thronged the Kennedy Hall.
To illustrate what he said, he gave the example of Manmohan Singh. “The fact that Manmohan Singh could become PM was not because he belonged to a minority community but because he was the most competent person to fit the slot.
He also called on Muslim youth to enter politics. “It could be the ideal way of not only helping Muslims but also of resolving national issues,” he said.
Rahul promised there would be at least 30 young Muslim faces in the political centrestage in five years. “This is my commitment. Muslim youth must join mainstream politics in far greater numbers,” he said.
-PTI