Rahul Gandhi, the new star of India's famed Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and son of the ruling Congress party chief, rejected on Monday calls for him to shoulder more responsibilities, saying he still had to learn the ropes of politics. There has been a growing clamour within the Congress to appoint Rahul, 35, to the party's apex decision-making panel, or a general secretary during a three-day party convention in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. But the first-time member of parliament said he was not yet ready. "Someone once asked me what my religion was. I thought about it and answered, the Indian flag was my religion," Rahul, son of Sonia Gandhi, said in his speech at the convention. "By taking up a job before I know what our workers and people feel I would be doing a disservice both to my religion and to my party," he was quoted as saying by Reuters. "My place right now is among our people, my place right now is to learn and to understand so I can serve my people and my party better," he said. Rahul is the latest entrant to politics from India's famed Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Rahul's father, grandmother and great grandfather have together been prime ministers for about 37 of the 46 years Congress has ruled India. Congress supporters strongly believe that the cherubic Rahul will also eventually become India's prime minister, the report of Reuters concluded.
