Prashant Kishor roasts RaGa, says Congress leadership 'not divine right'

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at Parliament on Thursday. Pic/PTI

The space represented by the Congress is vital but its leadership is not the "divine right of an individual", particularly when it has lost 90 per cent elections in the last 10 years, poll strategist Prashant Kishor said on Thursday in an apparent swipe at Rahul Gandhi.

A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's comment that there was no UPA anymore, Kishor, who has earlier been political advisor to various parties.

"The IDEA and SPACE that Congress represents is vital for a strong opposition. But Congress' leadership is not the DIVINE RIGHT of an individual especially, when the party has lost more than 90% elections in last 10 years," Kishor tweeted, riling the Congress. "Let opposition leadership be decided Democratically," he added.

Prashant Kishor, poll strategist

His remark sparked a sharp response from the Congress with party spokesperson Pawan Khera saying on Twitter, "The individual being discussed here is pursuing his Divine Duty to struggle and save Indian democracy from the RSS.

"A professional without ideological commitment is free to advice parties/individuals on how to contest elections but he cannot set the agenda of our politics," he said.

"This bogey of Congress assuming a ‘Divine Right To Rule' needs to be busted. Rahul Gandhi is carrying forward our rich legacy of a ‘Divine Duty To Struggle'," the Congress leader said.

Khera also hit out at Banerjee saying that a regional leader who is not a part of the UPA claiming UPA does not exist is a bizarre claim. "Just because I'm not a citizen of the USA doesn't mean USA doesn't exist," he said.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever