Congress chief rejigs key committees including CWC; dissenter Azad removed as General Secy

More than two weeks after 23 senior Congress leaders wrote a dissent letter, party president Sonia Gandhi reconstituted multiple committees including the Congress Working Committee. This implies that the key demand of the dissenters that the CWC members should be elected has gone unheeded. Interestingly, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Jitin Prasada who were signatories to the letter have retained their place in the CWC. However, Azad who launched a scathing attack on the party's functioning has been dropped from the list of AICC General Secretaries along with Motilal Vohra, Ambika Soni, Mallikarjun Kharge and Luizinho Faleiro.

On the other hand, Jitin Prasada has been named as the in-charge of West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Moreover, the Congress president has formed a special committee comprising loyalists AK Antony, Ambika Soni, Ahmed Patel, KC Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik and Randeep Surjewala to assist her in organizational and operational matters. In a sign that internal elections might be held soon, the Central Election Authority has been reconstituted with Madhusudan Mistry, Rajesh Mishra, Krishna Byre Gowda, S Jothimani and Arvinder Singh Lovely as its members.

Here are the rejigged committees: 

Read: Anand Sharma Justifies Signing Dissent Letter, Urges More Congress Leaders To Read It

Read: Two Masterminds Of Congress Dissent Letter Not Among 23 Signatories; Claiming Neutrality

Dissent within Congress

Several Congress leaders wrote to the Congress president on August 12 calling for sweeping changes in the party's functioning. The 23 leaders who have signed the letter are Anand Sharma, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Vivek Tankha, M Veerappa Moily, Mukul Wasnik, Jitin Prasada, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Prithviraj Chavan,  PJ Kurian, Ajay Singh, Renuka Chaudhary, Milind Deora, Sandeep Dixit, Raj Babbar, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Kaul Singh Thakur, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, former Haryana Speaker Kuldeep Sharma and former Delhi Speaker Yoganand Shastri. 

They observed that the uncertainly over the leadership and the drift in the party have weakened Congress and demoralized the workers. The letter reportedly mentioned 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 state level, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism to guide the party's revival. 

CWC reposes faith in the party leadership

After a high-octane CWC meeting on August 24, it was decided that Sonia Gandhi will continue as the interim president at least until the next AICC session is convened. It appreciated the role of Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul in taking on the Centre for its alleged inadequate response to crises such as COVID-19 and the Chinese aggression. Unanimously resolving to strengthen the hands of the Congress president and Rahul Gandhi, the CWC made it clear that no one can be permitted to weaken the party and its leadership at this juncture. Additionally, the CWC authorised the Congress president to make appropriate organizational changes. 

Read: Surjewala Rushes To Spare Rahul Gandhi's Blushes; Denies 'BJP Collusion' Charge & Appeals