It’s not a family tea-party, but ideological war, says Priyanka

The Gandhi cousins — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Congress and Varun Gandhi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — have become involved in an unprecedented war of words

For the first time ever, the Gandhi cousins — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Congress and Varun Gandhi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — have become involved in an unprecedented war of words during the ongoing elections to the Lok Sabha in India, with the former making it clear that it was not a “family tea-party” but an “ideological war”.

Priyanka, 42, is the daughter of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and the younger sister of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Varun, 34, is the only son of Rajiv Gandhi’s younger brother, the late Sanjay Gandhi and former union minister Maneka Gandhi.

Varun is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh; adjacent to Amethi, from where Rahul is seeking re-election for a third term. Rahul is also leading the Congress in the elections, in which the BJP has been put as the front-runner by almost all opinion polls.

Talking to reporters in Amethi on Tuesday, Priyanka made it clear that she had no regrets about the leak of a video over the weekend in which she was heard criticising Varun at a meeting with party workers in Sultanpur. Among other things, she said Varun was a youngster in the family who had gone “astray” and urged the people of the area to bring him round to the right path.

Reacting to that jibe, Varun, who was in Sultanpur on Tuesday to file his nomination papers for the election, issued a statement, saying that he had always practised the “politics of decorum”.

“I have always viewed others’ respect as my own. In this past decade, whether it has been a member of my family or a senior leader of any political party, in my speeches, I have never crossed the ‘lakshman rekha’ (line) of decency. In the last few days, a few statements have been made. All I would like to say is that my inherent decency and large-heartedness should not be construed as weakness by anyone,” he said, without referring to Priyanka.

“There has been talk of my path. I have always considered the nation’s path as more important than my own. In my lifetime, if I am able to constructively contribute towards nation-building, I would consider my life meaningful.

“I have always practised the politics of principle, centred around the important issues of our time. It is my request to all that, instead of personal attacks, we debate unemployment, corruption, poverty, illiteracy. Let us try to raise the level of discourse rather than lowering it. When we practise politics centred on personal criticism, we deviate from the crucial issues of our time. If India has to move towards the politics of hope, we will have to raise the level of debate,” he added.

Later, he addressed a public meeting in Sultanpur, where he said much the same things. He also said the country needed a strong leader today. “That leader is Narendra Modi,” he said, referring to the BJP prime ministerial candidate.

Priyanka, who was in Amethi to campaign for her brother, said she continued to hold her strong beliefs in this matter. “This is not a family tea-party. It is an ideological war,” she told reporters. “I believe what I believe about this election and this country.”

“Anybody, no matter how close they are, as blood relations, if they are going to be on that side of the ideological spectrum... then these are my beliefs.”

She recalled the alleged hate-speeches that Varun had delivered during the campaign for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections (for which he was later acquitted by a court in Uttar Pradesh of charges of spreading communal hatred).

“I strongly disagree with those views. It’s a betrayal of my family,” she said. “My father died for the unity of this country. I cannot disrespect that for anybody, even if it were my own child,” she said.

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• India