Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said dynasty politics is a facet of Indian politics, which makes the job a lot easier but does not guarantee success.
Well, it would be dishonest on my part to suggest I would have been where I am, had I not belonged to a political family. It accorded me a huge opportunity and I took advantage of these opportunities. Belonging to a political family will get your foot in the door a lot more easily than it does for others, but it doesn't guarantee you success, he said.
He made these remarks while speaking at a seminar 'The path forward in Kashmir' at the University of Berkeley in California in the US.
As per his speech, followed by a question-and-answer session, the details of which was provided here, Omar spoke on varied topics, including the current political situation in the country in the run up to the 2019 general elections.
The former chief minister said "the Indian voter is a lot more informed today, a lot more willing to experiment with their votes and not shy of affecting changes using their votes if they are not happy with the performance of the elected representatives."
I have won elections, have lost elections. I am currently sitting in the Opposition. If belonging to a political family was a guarantee of success, then I would have been here as the chief minister of J-K and not as an Opposition leader. So, belonging to a political family gives you an opportunity and what you do with that opportunity is for you to do and to that extent there are similarities in other spheres as well."
Well, you guys have a lot to answer for that. We sent one version of Rahul to Berkeley and you sent us a different version back, very new, very confident, very assertive, very outgoing and a very engaged Rahul Gandhi. So thank you Berkely!
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