Congress chaos over anti-Sonia letter continues; PC Chacko tut-tuts dissenters' behaviour

Even as Sonia Gandhi became the longest-serving 'interim' Congress chief putting to end yet another uprising within the party for a 'non-Gandhi' at the helm of affairs, statements by the senior leaders clearly reflect that the chaos continues.

On Tuesday, senior Congress leader PC Chacko said that he believes certain things need to be corrected in the leadership, while also adding that the dissent letter should not have been written. While the dissenters also withdrew their statements against Rahul Gandhi, Chacko - who was not one of the signatories, seemed to have attempted to play safe. 

Speaking to ANI, Chacko said:  "I feel there are certain things to be corrected in the leadership. But that shouldn't have been in the form of a letter. People who wrote it, I share their views, but the way they behaved, by releasing the letter a day before CWC meeting created the controversy."

Highlighting the importance of Congress in the Opposition, Chacko added: "Opposition parties are looking forward to Congress to coordinate activities with them. Those who oppose Modi whether it is Sharad Pawar or Lalu Prasad including Communist leaders, they know they can't do anything on their own. All over India, Congress has its footprint. All regional and small parties want the leadership of the Congress to call and discuss with them. This is what they expect from Congress but this is not happening. So they are really disappointed."

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Day-long drama on Monday

23 leaders had written to party's interim-Chief Sonia Gandhi emphasising the need for the active revival of the party. As CWC meeting began on Monday, sources reported that Sonia Gandhi offered to step down, whereas Rahul Gandhi expressed his displeasure at the dissenting letter. An all-out war broke out between Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal and the Wayanad MP after the latter said that the dissenters were 'in cahoots with the BJP', which prompted Sibal to lash out on Twitter and Azad to offer to resign. The temporary end to the day-long drama came with Sonia Gandhi continuing to be the 'interim' chief of the grand-old party, till fresh elections are held by AICC in the next six months. A 5-point resolution waxing lyrical about Sonia and Rahul Gandhi was issued. 

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Chaos far from over

Despite being outmaneuvered in their attempt to coerce the Gandhis to appoint a 'non-Gandhi chief' and the dissenters reaffirming their 'faith' in the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, it seems the chaos in Congress is far from over. Taking to Twitter, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal - one of the dissenters, who on Monday, went all guns blazing on former party chief Rahul Gandhi only to eventually withdraw his statement - has said that the matter is about his country. In a two-line response to Congress party again selecting Sonia Gandhi as their interim chief until next AICC session, Sibal said that it is not about a post, adding that country matters the most.

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Additionally, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha took to Twitter on Tuesday and said that those who wrote the letter are not 'dissenters' but 'proponents of revival'. In what seemed a face-saver from the chaos that spilt out in open on Monday, Tankha added that the letter was not a challenge to leadership but a 'parchment of action to strengthen the party.' Notably, Karti Chidambaram has retweeted Tankha's view. 

On Monday, Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram exuded confidence in Congress emerging stronger after 23 senior party leaders expressed their dissent. He maintained that the dissenting leaders are as fiercely opposed to BJP as former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. According to him, discontent was instrumental for change. Asserting that no one alleged that some Congress leaders were colluding with BJP, Chidambaram revealed that some issues had already been addressed by the party. 

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