THE COUNTRY IS IN SAFE HANDS BUT SON OF SONIA GANDHI MOST TRUSTED FRIEND, PRAISES MODI GOVERNMENT

THE COUNTRY IS IN SAFE HANDS BUT SON OF SONIA GANDHI MOST TRUSTED FRIEND, PRAISES MODI GOVERNMENT

13-AUG-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

DELHI---------------------------Faisal Patel, son of late Congress veteran Ahmed Patel, has praised the Narendra Modi government and said that the country is in safe hands. But, he made it clear that he is not angry with the Congress, but is just taking a break from public life. It is worth noting that a few months ago, 44-year-old Faisal had announced that he was stopping working for the Congress because he was not given a chance to follow in his father's footsteps.

Talking to news agency ANI, he said, "Our country is in safe hands because of our army. I think 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 inflation, unemployment and other problems, but they are doing a good job." Praising the Narendra Modi government, Faisal said that the country cannot get better leadership than this. Referring to the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, he said, "Our army did a great job. Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed excellent leadership and got us out of a big crisis. This is a big thing. I am proud of our army. I respect Foreign Minister Jaishankar a lot. The way Modi ji selects bureaucrats, makes them leaders and brings them to ministries is very good."

Faisal also praised opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and called him a hardworking leader. Targeting some big Congress leaders, he said, "Congress has promising and sensible leaders like Shashi Tharoor, DK Shivakumar, Revanth Reddy, Deepender Hooda and Sachin Pilot. But, there are some issues within the party. Senior leaders are not being given the right advice. Their advisors are not doing a good job."

Late Ahmed Patel was a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Bharuch in Gujarat and a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha for almost three decades. He was a political advisor to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and was considered the biggest troubleshooter of the Congress. He died of Covid in 2020.

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress did not field a candidate from the Bharuch seat as part of its alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). This decision angered Faisal and his sister Mumtaz. As a result, the AAP lost the seat, which the BJP has been winning since 1989. Earlier this year, Faisal wrote on X, "My father Ahmed Patel gave his entire life for the country, the party and the Gandhi family. I tried to follow his path, but I was stopped at every step. I will continue to work for humanity. Congress is and will remain my family."

Now Faisal said that he is not angry with the Congress at all. He said, "The entire party is my family. I have good relations with the senior leaders of the party. I am still in the Congress, I have just taken a break from public life. The people of Gujarat and local leaders praise me."