Sonia Gandhi Not Just Rahul’s Mother, She is Mother Of Congress Party: Veerappa Moily

Though Rahul Gandhi will lead the Congress, outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi will continue to play an effective role and guide the destiny of the party, said senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily. He said Sonia Gandhi showed great leadership and forged a coaltion government in 2004. Moily said in Hyderabad that she had "that kind of power to put coalitions together".

During her tenure, the Congress has regained power in "many states", he said, and praised her "leadership" in the enactment of legislations, such as the RTI and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS)."She will continue to play an effective role even after making way for Rahul Gandhi as the Congress president," the former chief minister of Karnataka said, when asked if Gandhi would play a role to bring together like-minded opposition parties together to fight the BJP in 2019 parliamentary elections.

"She is always looked upon as mother of the party; not only mother to Rahul Gandhi (who is poised to take over as Congress president), but also mother to the party. She will continue to inspire and nurture the Congress," Moily said.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had on December 4 filed his nomination papers for the post of party president, paving the way for a generational shift in the leadership of the party, headed by his mother Sonia Gandhi.