Call for Congress reforms meets resistance from loyalists

A file photo of minister Balasaheb Thorat and ex-chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. While the former is supporting the Gandhi family, Chavan is one of the signatories to the letter

The Congress has landed in turmoil over a call by some senior leaders for internal reforms, including having a full-time, effective and visible national leadership. A large section of the party, including former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, has objected to the demand that appears to cast aspersions on the ability of the current leadership and weakens the party's organisation.

The turn of events also reaffirmed a sentiment that the majority wants a Gandhi family member to lead them and punish dissenters, which includes many from the party's 'hall of fame'.

The letter was addressed to interim president Sonia Gandhi, who on Monday agreed to continue in the post, although reluctantly. However, before Sonia accepted the Congress Working Committee's (CWC) demand, the after-effects of the letter, which Rahul said was unwarranted and untimely in view of his mother's poor health, were seen at CWC meeting in New Delhi on Monday.

Vijay Wadettiwar and Rahul Gandhi

A section of the media reported that Rahul wondered if the 'letter writers' colluded with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Two signatories, Kapil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad reacted to Rahul's reported remarks but retracted them when he clarified that he had not made them.

'Won't allow leaders on the streets'

Leaders of the Maharashtra and Mumbai Congress reacted sharply to the letter, also signed by former Chief Minister and MLA Prithviraj Chavan, former union ministers Mukul Wasnik (CWC member) and Milind Deora. Apart from 23 senior leaders, some 300 others from across the country signed the letter.

Minister of Dairy Development and Animal Husbandry Sunil Kedar said that he does not subscribe to the demands of some "so-called intellectual leaders" from Maharashtra. "Those leaders should first tender an unconditional apology or the party workers will not allow them to roam freely in the state. The Gandhi family's leadership has helped the country and the party to progress for several decades," he said.

Sonia Gandhi and Sunil Kedar

The state Congress passed a resolution on Sunday urging Sonia to continue and requested Rahul to take the party's reigns if his mother doesn't. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president and senior minister Balasaheb Thorat reiterated the feeling on Monday. The party's National Scheduled Castes Cell headed by Dr Nitin Raut, who is a senior Maharashtra minister, also passed a similar resolution.

'Gandhi is the past and future'

CWC's permanent invitee and Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra Rajiv Satav batted strongly for Sonia, saying she must foil a deliberate attempt to weaken the party which was pinning down the Modi government on its failed governance. "Gandhi is not only our past but the future too," Satav said. School education minister Varsha Gaikwad also supported Sonia's leadership. Chief ministers, party units and their opposition leaders in Congress-held states supported the Gandhi family's leadership.

Maharashtra minister Vijay Wadettiwar told reporters, "The Congress party epitomises true democratic values, hence the letter should not be seen as opposition to the current leadership." He said if Rahul Gandhi asks Maharashtra Congress to quit the MVA government, it will be done immediately. "Rahulji had approved the formation and we will leave if he does not want us to be part of the government," he said.

'Not against Gandhi'

Under heavy attack and now vulnerable to disciplinary action, the four signatories, who are CWC members, are reported to have clarified to the leadership and the CWC that they were not against the Gandhi family. Not many in the Congress are ready to buy their explanation.

Some of the signatories reacted hastily to Rahul's 'unsaid' remarks and retracted it, others remained silent. Their buzzing Twitter handles were dead, but some of their posts, like the one pinned a day before by Shashi Tharoor, quoted Jawaharlal Nehru, "'Without passion and urge, there is a gradual oozing out of hope and vitality, a settling down on lower levels of existence, a slow merging into non-existence. We have become prisoners of the past and some part of its immobility sticks to us".

Other signatories included Jitin Prasada and Anand Sharma (CWC members), Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Rajender Kaur Bhattal, M Veerappa Moily, P J Kurian, Ajay Singh, Renuka Chaudhary, Raj Babbar, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Kaul Singh Thakur, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Kuldeep Sharma, Yoganand Shastri and Sandeep Dixit.

23 - No. of senior leaders who have signed the letter

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