New Delhi, Dec 16 (KNB): The scion of India’s most influential political dynasty Rahul Gandhi Saturday sworn in as the president of the country’s main opposition Indian National Congress Party.
The Congress’ central election authority (CEA) handed him over the certificate of his elevation to the top post during a grand event held at the lawns of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here.
47-year-old Rahul Gandhi was handed over the certificate in the presence of his mother and predecessor Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other senior party leaders.
Born on 19 June 1970, Gandhi is the son of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. His grandmother Indira was India’s first female leader, and his grandfather, Jawarhlal Nehru, was the country’s founding Prime Minister. Both Indira and Rajiv were assassinated while in office.
Gandhi entered politics in 2004, when he was elected to the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of parliament, from the Amethi constituency in northern Uttar Pradesh state — a seat once held by his father and his mother. In subsequent years, he moved up the Congress Party’s hierarchy, becoming vice president in 2013.
In December 2010 during the United States diplomatic cables leak, WikiLeaks leaked a cable dated 3 August 2009, where the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh had hosted a lunch on 20 July 2009 for Rahul Gandhi, then the General Secretary of the AICC. One of the guests who was invited for the lunch was the United States Ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer. In a “candid conversation” with Roemer, he said that he believes Hindu extremists pose a greater threat to his country than Muslim militants. (KNB)