Published 14:56 IST, August 24th 2020
Sonia Gandhi-aide Ahmed Patel now proposes Rahul for Congress president amid open revolt
In a massive development on Monday, August 24, Congress treasurer and MP Ahmed Patel proposed the name of Rahul Gandhi as the next president of the party.
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In a massive development on Monday, Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel proposed the name of Rahul Gandhi as the next president of the party. This comes amid huge drama in the Congress Working Committee meeting where the Wayanad MP accused dissenting leaders of colluding with BJP. 4 senior Congress leaders logged off from the CWC meeting, leaving in protest against the former Congress president's comments. Ahmed Patel is known to be the closest aide of Sonia Gandhi.
As per sources, Rahul Gandhi's camp has said that the details of the letter should not have been released to the media. They observed that any grievances raised by party members should be discussed in the CWC and not before the media. Earlier in the day, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi offered to resign. Sonia Gandhi had taken over the responsibility on August 10, 2019, after Rahul Gandhi stepped down from the post following the Congress party's debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Rahul Gandhi's charge about colluding with the BJP sparked angry reactions from Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal and others. Azad offered to resign whereas Sibal hit out on Twitter. Starting with Surjewala, certain members of the Congress then went into damage control mode, and Sibal later rolled back his tweet after Rahul Gandhi called him.
Congress leaders call for sweeping changes
Reportedly, several Congress leaders wrote to the Congress president on August 12 calling for sweeping changes in the party's functioning. As per suspended Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha, more than 300 leaders representing all regions and states are signatories to the letter. Some of the senior leaders who have reportedly signed the letter include Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Milind Deora, Mukul Wasnik, Jitin Prasada, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Prithviraj Chavan.
Highlighting the challenges faced by India, the leaders argued that the revival of the Congress party is a national imperative. They stressed that the uncertainly over the leadership and the drift in the party have weakened Congress and demoralized the workers. They have allegedly put forth many suggestions such as the need for a full-time leadership available at the national and state headquarters, conducting elections at all levels including the Congress Working Committee and state level, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism to guide the party's revival.
14:56 IST, August 24th 2020