PM Modi brought us out of huge crisis: Ahmed Patel's son Faisal praises prime minister; says ‘I just exist in Congress'
The remarks come at a politically sensitive time, with the Congress party openly criticising the BJP-led Centre over its handling of the operation. Yet Faisal Patel, while reaffirming his association with the Congress, struck a markedly different tone, somewhat echoing Congress MP from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor.
Speaking to ANI, Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel's son Faisal was emphatic in his approval of the Modi government's crisis management.
'It can't be better than who's running the show (the central government) ... The armed forces have done a great job, and PM Narendra Modi showed great leadership and brought us out of a huge crisis,' he said.
Faisal Patel further applauded the Prime Minister's approach to choosing capable bureaucrats and elevating them to key ministerial roles.
'I am proud of our armed forces. I have a lot of respect for Jaishankar ji. How Modi ji picks up bureaucrats and makes them leaders and puts them in Ministry roles, is a very good thing,' he added.
While clarifying that he remains a Congress member, Patel did not shy away from voicing his concerns about the party's internal functioning.
'Rahul Gandhi is a hardworking leader. There are some very bright and intelligent leaders in the Congress, like Shashi Tharoor, DK Shivakumar, Revanth Reddy, Deependra Hooda, and Sachin Pilot. They are very capable leaders. There are problems internally, and I believe the right advice is not given to seniors who are running the party... Their advisors are not doing a good job. They come and go. The senior leaders' advice is not heeded,' he remarked.
Patel said he has taken a 'sabbatical from public life' but has not left the party.
'I am not upset with the Congress at all. The whole party is my family, and I have good relations with the senior leaders of the party... I am still in the Congress party... I just exist in Congress... The people of Gujarat and the local leaders have wonderful things to say about me,' he said.
The Congress leader's son also expressed strong confidence in India's defence apparatus and the current leadership's commitment to national security.
'Our country is in safe hands because of our Armed Forces. I feel that the leaders who are running the country right now, Narendra Modi, Dr S Jaishankar, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Sudhanshu Trivedi, are working hard. We have our problems like inflation, unemployment, and others, but they are doing a good job,' Patel concluded.
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