Jaitley calls Cong the ‘original creator’ of dynastic politics

NEWDELHI: There is little place for people of high calibre in dynastic parties and an insecure leader is scared of the shadow of more talented people, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday, calling the Congress the “original creator” of the concept of dynasties owning political parties.

Jaitley added that the dynastic culture demolishes organisational structure and militates against attracting leaders with talent or mass following.

“Is this the reason for the current mood within the Congress party? Or is it also the reason which persuades the Congress president to cross the line of decency and dignity when he refers to the Prime Minister,” Jaitley wrote in a Facebook post.

“This should suffice as a lesson for the dynastic parties. They succeed on the strength of some generations of the dynasty. They sink with the others,” he added. The Congress has been out of power for five years, Jaitley said, adding that it is staring at another possible defeat.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surejwala shot back at Jaitley, saying the Narendra Modi government was using his incessant rants to hide its “massive failures” on unemployment, rural distress and the persecution of weaker sections. “Prime Minister Modi and Arun Jaitley cannot hide behind daily blogs on ‘non-issues’ in order to hide the ‘real issues’,” Surjewala said.