New Delhi: Sons and daughters are no longer an issue in Indian politics, much less in Congress.
Whatever might be the grievances of AICC General Secretary Margaret Alva, tickets in elections for the kith and kin of leaders has virtually been the rule rather than exception in the grand old party.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has often accused the Congress of practising dynastic politics is itself slowly seeing the phenomenon.
However, regional parties take the cake when it comes to sonstrokes, but the Mayawati-led BSP only appears to be a bit different.
Left parties, known to be cadre based, are the "odd men out" as their leaders generally are of a different mould and the organisations too have a different structure.
"Why you are pointing fingers towards us and not others?", a visibly annoyed Congress President Sonia Gandhi had shot back to reporters when asked whether she was not promoting the family by giving her son Rahul a ticket in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.
It was over four years ago and Gandhi's reference was to the several kith and kin of leaders of all parties who were already in politics.
They included Rabri Devi, wife of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, M K Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Chandrababu Naidu, son-in-law of N T Rama Rao, A Ramdoss, son of PMK chief Dr Ramadoss, Ajit Pawar, nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar and H D Kumaraswamy and H D Revanna, sons of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
