'Rahul is more intellectual, better strategist than Rajiv'

'The image created in the media was based on a well-orchestrated campaign against an individual where millions and millions of dollars were spent on maligning this young man and when he is highly educated, people said he never went to college. People created this image by spending a lot of money. It was a false image'

'I give a lot of credit to Rahul Gandhi for standing up and fighting it for a long time and surviving, nobody else would have been able to survive'

Rahul Gandhi is more intellectual and more of a strategist as compared with his father Rajiv Gandhi, says long-time Gandhi family confidant Sam Pitroda, describing both leaders as "custodians of the idea of India".

In an interview with PTI, Pitroda also asserted that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has all the qualities of a future prime minister.

Pitroda, the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, dismissed as "bogus" the BJP's attack on Rahul Gandhi in the past over his remarks critical of the government during his visits abroad.

Speaking about Gandhi's upcoming visit to the US next week, Pitroda said he is not coming to the US in his official capacity but will have a chance to interact with a variety of people on Capitol Hill at an "individual level".

"He (Gandhi) will definitely have interactions with the press at the national press club, he will meet with the think tank people and will also have interaction at Georgetown University which is equally important in Washington DC," the Indian Overseas Congress chief said of Gandhi's first visit to the US since assuming the mantle of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Rahul Gandhi will visit the US from September 8-10 during which he will hold numerous interactions in Washington DC and Dallas, including at the University of Georgetown and the University of Texas.

Asked about similarities and divergences between former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Pitroda said he had worked with a number of prime ministers closely such as Rajiv Gandhi, PV Narasimha Rao, Manmohan Singh, VP Singh, Chandra Sekhar and HD Deve Gowda.

"I had an opportunity to see many prime ministers from very close quarters but the difference between Rahul and Rajiv maybe is that Rahul is much more intellectual, thinker, Rajiv was a little more doer. They have the same DNA, they have the same concerns and feelings for the people, they genuinely believe in building a better India for everybody, they are genuinely simple people. They don't have big personal needs," the Congress leader told PTI from Chicago.

"Rahul is a strategist more so than Rajiv was. They are products of different times, different tools, different experiences. Poor Rahul has gone through two big shocks in life, (death of) his grandmother and his father. So they have had different paths to travel," he said.

Their fundamentals are clear, both are "custodians of the idea of India" that the Congress party had laid out and every leader of the party believed in, he said.

"Narasimha Rao believed in it, (Mallikarjun) Kharge ji believes in it and collectively it is our job to build the India our founding fathers had envisaged," Pitroda said.

He also pointed out that Rahul Gandhi's image is finally coming through the way he is and the two Bharat Jodo Yatras had helped in that.

"First of all, the image created in the media was based on a well-orchestrated campaign against an individual where millions and millions of dollars were spent on maligning this young man and when he is highly educated, people said he never went to college. People created this image by spending a lot of money. It was a false image. I give a lot of credit to Rahul Gandhi for standing up and fighting it for a long time and surviving, nobody else would have been able to survive," Pitroda said.

"The onslaught day in and day out on an individual, his family, his legacy, his party character, it is bad. These are mean people who by design lie, cheat and say all kinds of things about individuals. I have seen that in my case also to a very small extent," the 82-year-old technocrat said.

Pitroda said things have turned around in the public's mind because they are beginning to realise that the media is controlled, messages are designed to hurt people and lies are finally catching up.

"You cannot lie all the time to the people. People are now beginning to see that it was said 'we will create 20 million jobs', but they haven't done that, it was said black money will be brought back, it hasn't happened," he said.

On whether he sees Rahul Gandhi as a future PM, Pitroda said that is for the people to decide.

"From my personal experience and I may be biased, I think he is very capable. He is a decent human being, he is well educated, he has the right DNA and I see him as the custodian of the idea of democracy that the Congress has always promoted," he said.

Asked about Congress leaders' view that Gandhi had earned the right to assume the post of PM when the Congress comes to power, Pitroda said he agrees with the view but ultimately it is for the party to decide.

On whether he sees qualities of a future PM in Gandhi, Pitroda emphatically said, "Absolutely, no question about it."

Asked about the attack his party and he faced from the BJP during the past foreign visits of Gandhi over his critical remarks, Pitroda said that in this day and age when communication is instant and distance is dead, there are no local events.

"Every local event becomes a global event, a church burn in France is no longer a French event, it is a global event as an example. Same with wars. So it is wrong to assume that there are certain things you say at home and there are certain things you say abroad," he said.

"Criticising the government is not criticising India. It is ok to criticise the government by an opposition leader, That is his job in fact, so why complain. I think this whole business of criticising abroad is bogus," the Indian Overseas Congress chairman asserted.

On the June 4 Lok Sabha poll results and its significance, Pitroda said, "In the last election the fear was that the BJP will get 400 seats.Then it would have been an absolute majority which could bring about in the judgement of many people a little bit of concern at various levels on the Constitution, authoritarian mindset and more attack on the opposition and media. So this election was very important because the BJP could be brought down to 240 seats."

The message is loud and clear that ordinary people of India prefer democracy, Constitution, freedom and justice, he asserted.