The old vs new divide within the Congress appears to be widening rapidly with veteran leader Anand Sharma openly slamming the party's decision of entering into an alliance with Indian Secular Front (ISF) led by Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui.
In a series of tweets, Anand Sharma demanded answers from the Congress' Bengal unit while describing the alliance decision as 'painful and shameful'.
"Congress cannot be selective in fighting communalists but must do so in all its manifestations, irrespective of religion and colour. The presence and endorsement West Bengal PCC President is painful and shameful, he must clarify," Sharma said.
Reacting to Anand Sharma's statement, Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury sought to downplay the issue.
"We're in charge of a state and don't take any decision on our own without any permission," Chowdhury said.
"Congress’ alliance with parties like ISF and other such forces militates against the core ideology of the party and Gandhian and Nehruvian secularism, which forms the soul of the party. These issues need to be approved by the CWC," he went on to add.
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Anand Sharma's outpour came just a couple of days after Congress leaders including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal and others launched a veiled attack at the party leadership during an event in Jammu.
The group of 'dissenters', in an apparent message to the younger generation within the party, underlined that Congress is becoming weak.
"All of us have covered a very long distance to reach where we are today. Nobody among us has come through the window, all of us have walked through the door. We have come through the students' movement, the youth movement," Anand Sharma had is what appeared to be an attack on Rahul Gandhi.
"Congress has weakened in the last decade. Our voice is for the betterment of the party. It should be strengthened everywhere once again. New generation should connect (to party). We've seen good days of Congress. We don't want to see it weakening as we become older," he added.
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