Ready to become PM candidate in 2019 general election: Rahul Gandhi

Gandhi, when asked whether he is ready take charge as the PM candidate, said: "I am absolutely ready but the way our party (Congress) works, we have an organisational election process that decides that and that process is currently ongoing. So we have an internal system where we elect certain delegates to make that decision."

"So for me to say that the decision is mine wouldn't be fair. That is the decision the Congress party has to make and the process is currently going on right now," the Congress vice president added.

Gandhi is presently on a two-week long visit to the US and on the first day itself, he spoke over a range of issues that concerns India and in some cases criticised the incumbent Modi government.

The Congress VP highlighted how the country is going through a phase of intolerance. "Violence and hatred distract people from the task at hand. Liberal journalist being shot, people being lynched because they are Dalits, Muslims killed in suspicion of eating beef. This is new in India and damages India very badly."

Gandhi did not miss a chance to dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) government, particularly regarding the economic measures which had been taken since last year.

The recent Reserve Bank of India's report that states 99% of people's money returned to the bank after demonetisation and the recent dip in the GDP below six percent, prompted the Congress VP to criticise the government in the economic sector.

"The government's economic policies, the demonetisation and a hastily applied GST, has caused tremendous damage. Millions of small businesses were simply wiped out as a result of demonetisation. Farmers and manual labourers who use cash were hit extremely hard, agriculture in deep distress and farmers' suicide skyrocketed across the country," Gandhi said.

"Demonetisation, a completely self inflicted wound caused approximately 2% loss in India's GDP," he asserted.

The Congress vice president, was countered by BJP leader Nalin Kohli, who in an interview to NDTV, said Gandhi is trying to get an endorsement from foreign countries but when it comes to India, people reject him.

Kohli said the Congress party would continue their dynastic politics.

Image: Twitter handle of Office of RG.