Congress: Adhir Ranjan asks Khurshid to 'express himself within party'

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, has defended former party president Rahul Gandhi and urged Salman Khurshid to discuss all issues at party level. On Wednesday, senior party leader Salman Khurshid had said that former Congress President Rahul Gandhi "walked away" after party's Lok Sabha polls defeat. 

'Khurshid should have expressed himself inside the party'

"When the party has been going into election mood in states, these kinds of comments or utterances will not work well for the party. Instead of uttering outside, Khurshid should have consulted and expressed himself inside the party," Chowdhury told news agency ANI on Wednesday. He said that he cannot subscribe to the view spelt out by Khurshid. "On many occasions, Rahul Gandhi had categorically stated that he felt that it was moral accountability of the Congress President to own up the defeat of the Congress. Accordingly, he thought it is prudent to relinquish the chair of Congress president," Chowdhury added.

'Our leader has walked away'

Salman Khurshid told reporters on Monday that the party’s struggles are at the point that it may not be able to win key upcoming state elections or ensure its own future. The party is facing attrition because it is taking too long to come to terms with its defeat in the general elections of 2019. "Our biggest problem is our leader has walked away," Khurshid said, adding that Rahul Gandhi still retains the allegiance of the party. "It has kind of left a vacuum," Khurshid said. "Sonia Gandhi stepped in, but there is more than an indication that she is treating herself as a stop-gap arrangement. I wish it wasn't so." 

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Scindia echoed similar views

Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Wednesday, had stated that Congress is in dire need of introspection. Refusing to comment on Salman Khurshid's statement on the Congress turmoil, he echoed similar sentiments. He said that time had demanded that Congress must improve on its weakness. The statement came at a time when many in the party are upset with former party chief Rahul Gandhi's Bangkok trip. "I never make statements based on anyone else's statement. You must ask those who made the statement, for an explanation on it. But there is no doubt that Congress needs self-introspection. Time has demanded that Congress must inspect its actions and must improve on it," he said.

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