Congress in troubled waters as G-23 leaders eye 2nd event; top brass evaluates situation

Trouble has mounted for the Congress party as the 'G-23' group is planning a second event in Haryana's Kurukshetra after a holding public meeting in Jammu last week. As the dissented group of leaders led by Ghulam Nabi Azad lamented at the decisions of Congress and admitted that it has weakened, the party high command is now assessing the worsening situation.

According to ANI, the Congress leadership is dealing with the situation carefully, to avoid sending a wrong message to the party cadre. To escape any kind of public embarrassment, the top brass has not taken any action against senior leaders who gathered at the event of Gandhi Global Family in Jammu and has not sought an explanation from them on their remarks. 

Meanwhile, planning of another rally is underway in Kurukshetra, though it is yet to be decided under which banner it would be organised. The event G-23 group is in no mood to normalise the tension building up after leaders like Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tiwari, Raj Babbar, Bhupinder Singh Hooda opened a front in Jammu in which said that the party is getting weak. 

READ | Ghulam Nabi Azad Says 'don't Sideline Us' As 'G23' Leaders Do Not Wish To See Cong Weak

Congress responds to G-23 meet in Jammu

Lashing out at the G-23 leaders, party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "It would have been better if they helped the Congress in five election-bound states. These are respected leaders and we respect them. Soniaji made (Azad) the Chief Minister. Indiraji bestowed cabinet berth in the central government. He has been a general secretary in the party and has exercised supervision over 20 states across the nation," he said.

One of the G-23 leaders present at the Gandhi Global Family Function in Jammu said that no one from the AICC contacted them after the program but they were advised to campaign for the party in poll-bound states. 

"We are being advised to work for the Congress in poll-bound states but we have not been made a star campaigner by the party. We have not been contacted and assigned any task but we will continue to raise our voices to strengthen the party and we will go to other states too," he said. 

READ | Anand Sharma Up In Arms Over Congress-ISF Alliance; Claims Tie-up Against 'core Ideology'

Rift within Congress over ISF alliance

The cracks within Congress deepened further as senior leaders opposed the party's Alliance with Indian Secular Front (ISF) in West Bengal. Anand Sharma tweeted that "Congress' alliance with parties like ISF and other such forces militates against the core ideology of the party and Gandhian and Nehruvian secularism, which forms the soul of the party. 

Backing Sharma, party leader Sandeep Dikshit said on Monday that Congress must avoid allying with communal parties like ISF for the sake of Bengal polls. Reacting to Sharma's outburst, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury hinted that this decision had been approved by the Congress high command.

READ | Sandeep Dikshit Backs Anand Sharma; Slams Cong-ISF Alliance But Adds 'parties Can Change'

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