Published 20:43 IST, August 23rd 2020
'Congress is only safe in Sonia Gandhi or Rahul's hands': Adhir Chowdhury slams dissenters
Disapproving of the dissent within Congress, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged Sonia Gandhi to continue as the party president
Disapproving of the dissent within Congress, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appealed to Sonia Gandhi to continue as the party president. According to him, the party's future was safe only in the hands of Sonia Gandhi or her son Rahul. He alleged that some party leaders were deliberately attempting to weaken Congress and derail the Gandhi family's efforts to take on the Modi government. Chowdhury accused the dissenters of raising the "bogey" of a leadership crisis at the behest of some interested parties.
Recalling that the Rae Bareli MP's leadership propelled the United Progressive Alliance to victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he contended that the Gandhi family has never been hungry for power. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha claimed that the Congress president systematically delivered economic and social growth with "Dr. Manmohan Singh by her side to lead the government". Maintaining that the combined energies of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi made for a "winning combination", he opined that Congress workers and leaders should rejoice in this "potent formula".
Leadership in Congress
Sonia Gandhi is the longest-serving president of the Congress party. After being at the helm of affairs for 19 years which witnessed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) emerging victorious in 2004 as well as the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, her son Rahul Gandhi assumed charge in December 2017. A series of defeats in state elections combined with the disastrous performance of Congress in the 2019 General elections, Rahul Gandhi announced his decision to step down. After attempts to persuade him to take back his resignation failed, Sonia Gandhi assumed interim charge in August 10, 2019.
Leaders call for sweeping changes
As per suspended Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha, more than 300 leaders representing all regions and states are signatories to the letter in question. 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. They stressed 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 Congress Working Committee and state level, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism to guide the party's revival.
Updated 20:43 IST, August 23rd 2020