Published 19:49 IST, August 23rd 2020
Ashok Gehlot urges Rahul Gandhi to 'come back' as party chief; slams dissenting letter
As Congress remains divided on its party leadership, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, on Sunday called upon Rahul Gandhi to take over reins of the party from Sonia
As Congress remains divided on its party leadership, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, on Sunday called upon Rahul Gandhi to take over the reins of the party as his mother- Sonia Gandhi is set to step down as party chief. Gehlot also criticised the leaders who had sought 'structural changes', saying there was no need to go to the media. Incidentally, Gehlot's government recently survived a jolt when Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs rebelled against Gehlot, before re-entering the party folds.
Gehlot: 'Rahul should come ahead'
Following Gehlot's steps, Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat tweeted 'Come back, Rahul'.
Sonia Gandhi: ‘Get together and find a new chief’
Earlier in the day, Congress interim-chief Sonia Gandhi may step down from her post under pressure, reported sources. Responding to the leaders seeking structural change, sources report that Sonia Gandhi has asked the leaders that all of them should get together and find a new chief. Sources state that Gandhi has indicated does not want to carry out the responsibilities any further. The Congress is allegedly now planning to vote a 'non-Gandhi' president once Sonia Gandhi steps down.
23 leaders seek 'structural changes'
Hinting at apparent turmoil within the Grand old party, 23 senior leaders wrote to party's interim-Chief Sonia Gandhi emphasising the need for active leadership in the party and raised questions about the party's condition and direction, demanding an internal election to the CWC. The five-page letter - drafted by two senior leaders bears the signatures of leaders from the Congress' 'old guard ' and the 'young guard' (i.e Rahul Gandhi supporters). Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tiwari, Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor, Jitin Prasad, Veerappa Moily, Pramod Tiwari, PJ Kurien, Sandeep Dikshit, as per sources. Meanwhile, Congress has denied that it has received any such letter.
On the other hand, backing the Gandhis, Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh said this was not the time to raise such an issue, ahead of a crucial CWC meeting on Monday. Apart from Singh, several other Congress leaders like Salman Khurshid, Sanjay Nirupam, Siddaramaiah, Bhupesh Baghel have also opposed this idea. The critical Congress Working Committee (CWC) is set to meet on Monday, with all Congress-led state Chief Ministers set to attend. Congress has been in a leadership dilemma since Rahul Gandhi quit as party chief in the post-Lok Sabha 2019 debacle.
Updated 19:49 IST, August 23rd 2020