Aslam Sher Khan, former Union Minister and Hockey Olympian, has written to Rahul Gandhi expressing his desire to serve the Congress party as its President. In his letter, he has mentioned his achievements as a Hockey player and experience as a politician to lay his claim to the position. The letter was written on the 27th of May.
Aslam Sher Khan, ex-union minister&hockey Olympian on his letter to Rahul Gandhi: I wrote when Congress lost elections once again. When Rahul Gandhi said he wants to step down&wants someone else, someone not from his family, to take the charge I thought there’s an opportunity. pic.twitter.com/opsE6gxlhy
— ANI (@ANI) June 7, 2019
Aslam Khan had participated in the Munich Olympic in 1972 as a member of the Indian Hockey team, and he was also the part of the team which won the world cup in 1975. He had joined the Congress party and won the 1984 Lok Sabha election from Betul constituency in Madhya Pradesh.
In his letter, Khan says, “I make this decision on the basis of my experience gained during my career as an international hockey player and later as a politician. When playing team sports such `as hockey or football, there are situations when tactical substitutions need to be made to change the dynamics of the game in order to score an equalizing goal.”
He goes on to add, “As a hockey player, I have proven my capability in such situations. When India was trailing 2-1 in the semi-final of the 1975 World Cup, I was given an opportunity to come on as a substitute in the dying moments of the game and used my resolve and self-belief to score an equalizer for the Indian team. As history goes, India won the match and went on to lift the World Cup trophy which is the only one till date.”
Khan said that he offered to serve as Congress party president for 2 years because it was necessary to reconnect the party to nationalism.
Aslam Sher Khan: If you want someone from outside Nehru-Gandhi family, give me the opportunity as no one else is stepping forward. I’d written in the letter to grant me provisional opportunity for 2 yrs. It’s essential to connect Congress to nationalism once again.
— ANI (@ANI) June 7, 2019
Unfortunately, not too many Congress leaders are taking the offer seriously. According to Hindustan Times, the Congress Working Committee unanimously rejected the offer and instead proceeded to pass a resolution to authorise Rahul Gandhi to revamp the organization.
For a while, there appeared to be great drama around the position of the Congress party president. Rahul Gandhi appeared to be throwing a tantrum following his party’s spectacular defeat and had reportedly offered to resign. However, after the drama, all appears to be water under the bridge as the affairs of the party goes on as usual with Rahul Gandhi leading it.
