Countdown begins for Rahul as PM pick

• Friday’s AICC session set to anoint him
• He will be the main speaker at the meet

Congress comes out two posters with Rahul as a mascot of the anti-graft crusade. While one says – Rahulji ka uddeshya, Bhashtachar-mukt Desh (Rahul’s aim: Corruption-free India), the other claims, “Rahulji ke nau hathiyaar, Door karenge Bhrashtachar” (Rahul’s nine weapons to fight corruption). No other leader figures in posters

Countdown for Rahul-for-PM has begun with the Congress Vice-President for the first time attending the Core Group meeting where the focus was on the passage of the anti-graft Bills.

In fact, the Congress has already come out with two posters with Rahul as a mascot of the anti-graft crusade. While one poster says – Rahulji ka uddeshya, Bhashtachar-mukt Desh (Rahul’s aim is to make India corruption-free), the other poster again claims, “Rahulji ke nau hathiyaar, Door karenge Bhrashtachar” (Rahul’s nine weapons to fight corruption).

In fact, even before the six out of the nine Bills are passed in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi is being showcased as the crusader against corruption.

All the nine Bills are listed in the poster along with the photograph of Rahul Gandhi. Except Rahul, no other leader is being projected in the Congress campaign.

The Congress Vice-President, who is all set to be anointed as the Prime Ministerial Candidate at the AICC Session on Friday, attended the Core Group meeting along with Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath, besides other members.

All the members were on the same page for pushing the anti-graft Bills in Parliament Session, ahead of polls.

The Bills that are yet to be enacted are Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill; Foreign Bribery Bill; Citizen’s Charter Bill; Whistleblowers Protection Bill; Public Procurement Bill; and Judicial Standards and Accountability Bills.

The three anti-graft Bills already enacted are- The Black Money Regulation Act, Lokpal Bill and the Right to Information Act.

Rahul Gandhi, who will be projected as the Congress Prime Ministerial candidate against both Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, wants to be showcased at least at par, if not more, with his other contenders, when it comes to fighting corruption.

Sources stated that all the Core Group members were keen that the party should publicise its achievements rather than be on the defensive. More than Congress President Sonia Gandhi or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, it was Rahul Gandhi, who spoke in the meeting, focusing on how to forge ahead in the fight against corruption by evolving a framework of anti-graft laws, instead of just talking about Lokpal Bill.

Ahead of the AICC Session, where Rahul Gandhi will be the main speaker, Rahul is preparing himself to address the gathering where he can boast that the party is coming forth with the anti-graft Bills and he has accordingly taken the nod from the Core Group.

At the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting slated for Thursday, senior Congress leaders are determined to push for Rahul-for-PM demand. This time round, Rahul is unlikely to refuse the request as he has already stated in an interview to a national Hindi daily that he is a soldier of the Congress and that he will obey whatever order is given to him. This is in sharp contrast to his earlier remarks that to become Prime Minister was not what he was looking for.

The indication that Rahul was ready to take up the larger role became evident when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed a rare press conference where he declared his retirement plans after polls and praised Rahul’s outstanding credentials for being named as Congress Prime Ministerial candidate. After the CWC, the AICC Session on Friday will set the stage for his formal anointment as the face of the Congress campaign.