Congress responds to G-23's Jammu rally; suggests to 'concentrate on poll-bound states'

Responding to G-23's rally in Jammu, Congress' Dr. Abhishek Singhvi on Saturday, stated that the group of leaders were 'respectable partymen' who are 'proud members of Congress', addressing a press conference. Highlighting Ghulam Nabi Azad's long contribution to Congress, he added that the G-23 must best contribute to the party by 'participating in the Abhiyaans in poll-bound states', rather than 'getting involved amongst Congress members'. Some of the '23 dissenters' led by Ghulam Nabi Azad along with Manish Tewari, Anand Sharma, Vivek Tankha,  Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Raj Babbar, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kapil Sibal held a 'Shanti Sammelan' in Jammu, as part of a 3-day visit in Jammu to chalk out the future course of action and hold several public meetings. 

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Congress reacts to G-23 rally in Jammu

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G-23's defiance rally

Leading the charge, Azad lamented the loss of Jammu-Kashmir's statehood saying, "In the last 5-6 yrs, all these friends did not speak any less than me in the Parliament over J&K, its unemployment, stripping off of statehood, finishing off industries & education, implementation of GST. Be it Jammu or Kashmir or Ladakh, we respect all religions, people & castes. We equally respect everyone, that is our strength and we will continue with this".

Talking about their 'dissenting', Anand Sharma said that the group of leaders has grown in the Congress through the students' movement, the youth movement, reiterating that the G-23 were a part of Congress. Stating that Congress has weakened in the past decade, he added that the new generation of leaders must connect with Congress to strengthen it again. Lamenting the loss of Azad from the Upper House, Sharma said, " There has never come such an occasion after 1950 when there is no representative of Jammu & Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha. This will be corrected".

Lauding Azad's experience, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, "What is the real role of Ghulam Nabi Azad Sahab? Ghulam Nabi ji is one such leader who knows the ground reality of Congress in every district of every state. We didn't want him to go from Parliament. I can't understand why is Congress not using his experience". Ex-Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda added, "Azad will come when J&K will be a state. He won’t come to J&K as UT. This will happen when Congress will get strengthened."

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Congress squashes dissent

Quashing all internal dissent, after a stormy Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the grand-old party retained Sonia Gandhi as party chief till elections are called for in the next AICC meeting. Moreover, it passed a resolution strengthening the Gandhis' leadership and not allowing anyone to undermine the party or the Gandhis (Rahul and Sonia). 23 senior leaders sought 'structural changes', internal election to the CWC even at state levels, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism, full-time leadership at the helm at the party. The 23 signatories include Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Rajender Kaur Bhattal, M. Veerappa Moily, Prithviraj Chavan, P.J. Kurian, Ajay Singh, Renuka Chaudhary, and Milind Deora -  belonging from the Congress' 'old guard ' and the 'young guard' (i.e Rahul Gandhi supporters). With a June 2021 deadline, most Congress leaders have rallied around Rahul Gandhi, but the G-23 has demanded a 'transparent election'.

G-23 leaders rally in Jammu ; highlight need to 'strengthen Congress', term it 'Gandhi 23'