National

Congress In Tatters : Hurt By Exit Of Young Names, Chaos In Punjab , Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal Seek Urgent CWC Meet

Picture : Twitter / ANI

Beset by troubles on multiple fronts within, the Congress faces the danger of imploding with party veterans Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal on Wednesday sharply questioning the decision-making process, saying there are “no monopolies”, and demanded convening an urgent meeting of the CWC for a “dialogue”.

A senior member of the ‘Group of 23’ who had written to Congress President Sonia Gandhi seeking an organisational overhaul, Sibal said the grouping is “not a Jee Huzur 23”, and will continue to put forth their views and repeat their demands. He also attacked the Congress leadership, wondering who in the party was taking decisions in the absence of a full-time president.

Amid a fresh bout of defections after Congress leader and former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro joined West Bengal’s ruling TMC on Wednesday, its former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh met Home Minister Amit Shah here triggering speculation over his future political plans.

The Punjab unit of the Congress is in turmoil after Amarinder Singh was removed as chief minister and its chief Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned from his post ahead of the crucial assembly elections in the state early next year. Factionalism in Punjab Congress has come to the fore over recent appointments of the new cabinet and other top officials.

The Congress has seen a spate of defections recently with Faleiro and its former MPs Abhijeet Mukherjee, son of former President Pranab Mukherjee, and Sushmita Dev defecting to the TMC. A senior Congress leader from Kerala V M Sudheeran has also quit from all the AICC positions.

Some senior leaders from the party including Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada have left the party and joined the BJP and are now both ministers in the BJP’s central and UP governments.

The internal feud within the party came to the fore again with Azad and Sibal demanded convening of a meeting of the Congress Working Committee(CWC),its highest policy making body, to discuss the party affairs.

Azad wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi on the current state of affairs where the party is facing crisis in some states with a number of its senior leaders quitting.

Amid the turmoil in Congress in states like Punjab and defections, Sibal demanded holding elections to the post of the Congress president, the CWC and the central election committee.

Expressing anguish over the developments in the party, he said all such issues need to be discussed at a party platform.

“In our party at the moment there is no president. So we don’t know who is taking these decisions. We know and yet we don’t know,” Sibal said.

“One of my senior colleagues has written to the Congress president to immediately convene a CWC. So that at least some things that we can’t speak publicly, we can have a dialogue in the CWC as to why we are in this state,” he added.

Attacking the party leadership, Sibal said there is no monopoly in the power structure of any country or political party and quoted Mahatma Gandhi to say that no school of thought can claim a monopoly of right judgment and we are all liable to err and are often obliged to revise our judgements.

“So, listen to our point of view. If you don’t accept it, fine, but at least listen. We respect your point of view, but have the space to respect ours. Allow us that dialogue. There are no monopolies. No monopolies should be created in the power structures of any country or a party,” Sibal said.

Every Congressman of the country should think as to how the party can be strengthened. Those who have left should come back because Congress alone can save this republic , Sibal told ANI

He said it is ironic that those who were considered their closest aides have left them and those who they thought were not close to them are still with them.

Congress general secretary Ajay Maken hit back at Sibal, saying such leaders should not denigrate the organisation and its leadership that gave them political identity.

Most Popular

To Top