https://www.facebook.com/shrikrishna.kulkarni.71/posts/10155471556778864

NEW DELHI: A nephew of Gopalkrishna Gandhi has come out strongly against his candidature for the Vice-President’s post. In an open letter, Shrikrishna Kulkarni said he was dismayed by Gandhi’s choice, calling it an endorsement of the Nehru-Gandhi family’s policy of dynastic succession.“The present day Gandhi family, as the progeny of Nehru are popularly known (in the media), have re-institutionalised dynastic succession.Their advent has systematically eroded the political landscape of India — the soul of India is slowly being ripped out. The present president of the Congress party has been in position for 18 years since 1998.Her son (fifth generation of Nehru dynasty, starting from Motilal Nehru ) is in line for succession,” Kulkarni wrote in the open letter posted on his Facebook page.“And of all the people in this nation, you choose to offer yourself to be their candidate. I saw with dismay images of you filing nomination flanked by family of dynastic politics.In that one instant, you tore apart the principles you espouse — those of Mahatma Gandhi or Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, both of whom were fearless and selfless leaders and who were dead against entitlements of birth,” Kulkarni said.Questioning the former West Bengal governor’s silence over the many scandals that have tainted the Gandhi family and the scams that took place under the erstwhile Congress-led UPA regime, Kulkarni said, “So many scandals over so many years, and not a single comment from you. Do you really believe all these are political vendetta? But you still went ahead and have endorsed them.”Gopalkrishna Gandhi was picked by 18 opposition parties to be their Vice-Presidential nominee and he filed his nomination on July 18. While Gopalkrishna is the grandson of M K Gandhi, Shrikrishna is the Mahatma’s great grandson.Kulkarni said it was his duty to protest against Gopalkrishna’s decision, which he considered a betrayal of confidence. “But as one small member of Gandhiji’s large family, I must register my protest,” he wrote, adding that it should not be in Gandhiji’s name.Kulkarni said he made a walking tour of India from January 2015 to April 2016 where he visited numerous villages, and found people who had a sense of pride about the country as well as decreasing faith in politicians, precisely because of dynastic politics.