Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrives for the second part of the Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, March 15, 2022.
Highlights
- The results of assembly elections in five states came as a shock to the Congress
- Sonia Gandhi at CWC meeting on Sunday had proposed to 'sacrifice' post in the party
- However, CWC rejected the proposal & unanimously reaffirmed faith in Sonia's leadership
Following the Congress' humiliating defeat in the Assembly polls in five states, the demand for the much-awaited overhaul in the party has started doing the rounds again. Several leaders including those belonging to G-23, the group of leaders who had written a letter to Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 to press for a revamp, have openly questioned the leadership.
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, also one of the members of G-23, has said that Gandhis - Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - should step aside and give some other leader a chance to lead the party.
"Leadership is in cuckoo land. I want a 'Sab ki Congress'. Some want a 'Ghar ki Congress'," Sibal told The Indian Express.
When Rahul Gandhi arrived at the Parliament today morning, reporters attempted to seek his views on Kapil Sibal's comments. However, Rahul evaded the question and walked inside the Parliament building.
Sibal is now facing severe flak from party colleagues for his comments. Party's Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore accused Sibal of speaking the language of the RSS and BJP.
"... why he is speaking the language of RSS/BJP?" Tagore, a staunch Rahul Gandhi loyalist, tweeted while tagging Kapil Sibal.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress' leader in Lok Sabha, called Sibal “ehsaan faraamosh (ungrateful)”.
Earlier on Sunday, the Congress Working Committee rejected Sonia Gandhi's proposal that she and her family members (Rahul and Priyanka) are ready to sacrifice posts.
Separately, the Congress has shared a video of all its former leaders from Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, on its Twitter handle. It reads, "We will fight on. We will overcome. We will continue to raise your voice."
Meanwhile, G-23 leaders will meet at Sibal's residence in Delhi tomorrow over dinner. This would be the second meeting of G-23 leaders after the party's defeat in Assembly polls this month.
The results of assembly elections in five states came as a shock to Congress. While the BJP retained power in all the four states it ruled before the polls (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur), the Congress lost Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The grand old party even failed to put up a strong fight in the four states.
READ MORE: Adhir Ranjan says Gandhis proposed to sacrifice their posts at CWC meeting, rejected
