An important meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) is underway to choose a new party President, but a now-deleted tweet from senior Congress member Kapil Sibal has indicated a rift between the old guard of the Congress and the new guard, which seems to be pushing for Rahul Gandhi to take charge. Sibal had tweeted: “Rahul Gandhi says ‘we are colluding with BJP’. Succeeded in Rajasthan High Court defending the Congress Party. Defending party in Manipur to bring down BJP government. Last 30 years have never made a statement in favour of BJP on any issue. Yet ‘we are colluding with the BJP’?” However, Sibal then deleted the tweet saying he had been told personally by Rahul Gandhi that he had never made those remarks.
The point of contention in the CWC meeting is a letter written by 23 members around a fortnight ago – including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor – asking for sweeping changes in the party. According to reports quoting sources who are privy to the developments in the meeting, Sonia Gandhi has offered to step down as the interim Congress President, citing the letter. However, Rahul Gandhi has expressed his displeasure with the letter, and alleged a ‘BJP hand’ behind it, the reports added.
Sh. Rahul Gandhi hasn’t said a word of this nature nor alluded to it.
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 24, 2020
Pl don’t be mislead by false media discourse or misinformation being spread.
But yes, we all need to work together in fighting the draconian Modi rule rather then fighting & hurting each other & the Congress. https://t.co/x6FvPpe7I1
Was informed by Rahul Gandhi personally that he never said what was attributed to him .
— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) August 24, 2020
I therefore withdraw my tweet .
Reports said that Rahul Gandhi, during the CWC meeting said that the letter to Sonia Gandhi about the party’s leadership was written at a time when the Congress government in Rajasthan was facing a crisis and that the right place to discuss what was written in the letter was the CWC meeting and not the media.
On Sunday, Sonia Gandhi had indicated willingness to step down as interim president of the Congress party – and following the announcement, there was a massive outpouring of support for the leader from many sections of the Congress. Congress Chief Ministers led the calls for Sonia Gandhi to stay until Rahul Gandhi takes charge. Almost all Lok Sabha MPs of the party have written to Sonia Gandhi expressing solidarity and urging her to continue in her post or install Rahul Gandhi.
Several state units including Delhi and Rajasthan passed resolutions favouring the leadership of Gandhis after a letter from a section of senior party leaders demanded sweeping reforms in the party, going to the extent of questioning the current CWC's ability to guide the party in the fight against the BJP.
Ironically, at least three of the dissenters are themselves part of the same CWC. These include Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik.
Several party leaders, while supporting the continuation of Gandhis at the helm, accused those behind the letter of playing into the hands of the BJP and attempting to weaken the party at a time when there was a need to close ranks against the NDA government.
The dissenting leaders, meanwhile, also said that the party has failed to conduct an honest introspection of its losses in 2014 and 2019, adding that the uncertainty over leadership has demoralised workers.
This is the second challenge to Sonia Gandhi's leadership after the one in 1999 when the then leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sharad Pawar challenged her foreign origins in order to keep her from being named the party's prime ministerial face in the general elections that year.
Sonia Gandhi had resigned in the CWC, which rejected her move unanimously bringing her back as party president. While Sonia went on to become the longest serving Congress president, Pawar and rebels had to quit to form the NCP.
With inputs from PTI