Congress appoints Sonia Gandhi as 'new' party chief, Sachin Pilot tight-lipped over party's decision

Keeping the helm of affairs with the Gandhi family, Congress Working Committee on Saturday appointed Sonia Gandhi as the interim chief, months after Rahul Gandhi resigned from the position. While there has been an internal divide in the party between old guards and young guns, the selection of  Sonia Gandhi as party president is being seen as the denial of the grand old party to transfer the powers to a Non- Gandhi. It was said on Saturday that CWC unanimously requested UPA chairperson and former party president Sonia Gandhi to take over the top position, after Rahul Gandhi once again rejected the request of the party to take back his resignation. Sonia Gandhi had held the post of Congress President between 1998 and 2017 before her son Rahul Gandhi took over.

Following the decision, many leaders of Congress party welcomed the decision, however, few remained tight-lipped about the decision. Jyotiraditya Scindia taking to Twitter said that it is an honour to work under Sonia Gandhi once again and that the party will now work under 'combined leadership'. 

READ: Congress Working Committee praises Rahul Gandhi's 'exceptional leadership', appoints Sonia Gandhi as party chief

However, Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot is yet to respond on the development. There were reports of an internal fight within the party since the Rajathan assembly elections took place and Congress chose Ashok Gehlot as chief minister above Pilot. Meanwhile, Milind Deora who has openly been in war-of-words with another Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam welcomed the decision.

Interestingly, Deora welcomed Centre's move to scrap Article 370. Notably, the after the CWC meeting, Rahul Gandhi told media:  "I was called by the CWC because between the work that they were doing, to choose next Congress president, some reports had come that things in Jammu and Kashmir were going very wrong and so we stopped our deliberation."

READ: Sonia Gandhi appointed interim Congress president, CWC meeting inconclusive

Rajasthan chief Ashok Gehlot also welcomed the decision saying that Sonia Gandhi accepted the decision 'keeping in mind serious challenges before our Nation and that 'all Congressmen are grateful to her for the same'. Even as the party cites the integration of Jammu and Kashmir as a 'serious challenge', the All India Congress Committee's Supreme Court unit of its legal, human rights and RTI cell said on Friday that it endorses the Centre's move to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and reorganise the region into Union Territories of Ladakh and J&K. It adds that it endorses the full integration of the region with the rest of India.

A statement released by the Supreme Court Unit of the AICC legal, human rights and RTI department about a resolution passed in a meeting held on Friday said that the cell 'fully endorses and supports the decision to create the two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, in national interest.'

READ: "To Think That The Congress Party Would Do Anything Different Was Just Naive" Says BJP's Amit Malviya On Sonia Gandhi's Appointment As Congress Interim President