Shatrughan Sinha congratulates Rahul Gandhi, says 'long live Congress'

Patna: Sidelined BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday congratulated Rahul Gandhi on becoming the new Congress president and expressed hope that India's oldest political party will usher in a new era under the latter's leadership.

"Today is the day of rise of most natural and deserving Rahul Gandhi as president of the oldest and respected party of India. Let us all congratulate him in true national spirit,'' the BJP MP from Patna tweeted.

''In the larger interest of democracy, I also wish 'Long live the Indian National Congress," the actor-turned-politician said further.

The congratulatory tweet from Sinha, the BJP Lok Sabha MP from Patna Saheb in Bihar, came at a time when his own party leaders labelled Rahul Gandhi as ''the captain of a sinking ship.'

While many in Congress hailed Rahul Gandhi's ascension to president's chair as a historic day, several top leaders from the BJP and Janata Dal-United took a dig at the Gandhi scion.

On several occasions in the past, the former Bollywood actor has expressed views on several issues that are against the BJP's official line.

Sinha, who is apparently close to LK Advani, has often criticised PM Narendra Modi over policy issues and his alleged authoritarian style of functioning. 

Marking a generational shift, Rahul Gandhi today took over as the new Congress president, assuming the mantle of the country's oldest political party from his mother Sonia Gandhi, and launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "taking us back to the medieval times".

The process of his election as the new Congress chief was completed after the Central Election Authority President Mullapally Ramachandran handed over the Certificate of Election to Rahul Gandhi in a ceremony at 24, Akbar Road, housing the party headquarters.

Sonia Gandhi, 70, who steered the party through turbulent times for 19 years, her daughter Priyanka Vadra, and son-in-law Robert Vadra and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh joined the top Congress leadership at the ceremony marked by loud celebrations as scores of Rahul Gandhi supporters danced to the beat of drums, raised slogans, burst firecrackers and distributed sweets outside the party office here.

The 47-year-old Gandhi scion's formal takeover comes two days before the counting of votes for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections, the outcome of which could be a trendsetter for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. His main challenge remains the revamping of party organisation, apart from electoral battles in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In his first speech as the Congress President, Rahul Gandhi launched an all-out attack against Modi and the BJP.

"Politics belongs to the people, but today politics is not being used for people. It is not being used to uplift people, but to crush them," Rahul Gandhi said.

He said many of the countrymen were "disillusioned by politics of our time" as "today, politics is devoid of kindness and truth".

"The Congress took India to the 21st Century, but the PM, today, is taking us back to the medieval times... We are now being compelled to imagine that businesses can be built without harmony that only one man himself is the voice of reason, and that expertise, experience and knowledge can be cast aside for personal glory," Rahul Gandhi said.

"You have an example in front of you. Once a fire breaks out it is difficult to douse it. That is what we are telling the people of BJP, that if you set the nation on fire it will be difficult to control. Today, the BJP has spread the fire of violence across the country."