A day after declaring that Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi were members of the Congress ‘‘by birth’’, the party today clarified that they were also ‘‘primary members’’ of the Indian National Congress as they subscribed to its ideology and rules guiding membership.In reply to a question this evening, Congress spokesman Anand Sharma asserted that the Gandhi siblings were an ‘‘integral part’’ of the Congress from a ‘‘historical’’ and ‘‘emotional’’ perspective. But they also fulfilled the ‘‘technical dimension’’ of being primary members of the party.He refused to say when they applied for and received primary membership. Asked when they would become ‘‘active’’ members, Sharma gave the stock reply: ‘‘That is for them to decide.’’ Sharma also launched an aggressive counter-offensive to the BJP’s charge of dynastic rule and said: ‘‘I challenge the BJP’s collective leadership to name one leader who participated and made sacrifices during India’s freedom struggle. Let them name one family (belonging to the Sangh Parivar) which has served the nation for even two generations.’’In contrast, the Nehru-Gandhi family had been in the forefront of the freedom movement and four generations had served the nation, with two of them sacrificing their lives for the nation, he said. He dismissed the BJP’s criticism of Rahul and Priyanka’s recent campaign in Amethi and Rae Bareli as a ‘‘panic’’ reaction.‘‘Almost 13 years after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and two decades after their illustrious grandmother’s assassination, a mere tour of Rahul and Priyanka has unnerved the BJP,’’ he said.While reiterating that the two were an ‘‘integral part’’ of the Congress because of their ancestry and that they were the ‘‘fifth generation’’ of the family to step out to ‘‘serve the nation’’, Sharma tried to distance himself from Abhishek Singhvi’s comment that they were members by birth.Sharma said membership was not given on heredity but in accordance with criteria. Rahul and Priyanka had become primary members because they fulfilled the criteria of subscribing to the party’s ideology.Sources indicated the two had become primary members ‘‘very recently’’ but denied that ‘‘recently’’ meant as early as this morning following Singhvi’s revelation yesterday that they were ‘‘born to the party’’ but were not party members.The fact that they chose to become members very recently has heightened hopes in the Congress that they will plunge into active politics this year. Their ‘‘impeccable’’ bloodline will dilute the BJP’s ‘‘videshi bahu’’ campaign against Sonia Gandhi considerably, Congressmen feel.
