Gandhis silent as Congress internal rift widens

Photo for representational purpose

Amid the ongoing turmoil within the Congress as senior leaders are raising their voices, the Gandhi's are maintaining a silence. The firefighting has been left to the younger lot, who are not hesitating to corner the dissenters, even calling them 'conspirators to break the party'.

Haryana MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi has alleged that it is because of Ghulam Nabi Azad that the party could not return to power in the state. "What is your history? In entire life, you have won only three polls. Are you giving advice to the Congress party. Are you talking against the Gandhi family which nominated you to the Rajya Sabha on five occasions," he said.

"History is testament to Congress's instrumental role in our Independence struggle and nation-building endeavour. The Gandhi family has always been at the forefront of development and personal sacrifice. Identifying and empowering mass leaders will be the key."

The Congress has officially refrained from making comments. It is the younger lot, which has taken on the dissenters for targetting the party at a crucial time.

Youth Congress President B.V. Srinivas also attacked Azad and said senior leaders should have maintained the decorum.

While Congress insiders feel that this is an arm twisting method as the party is currently in a weaker phase due to electoral setbacks. They say attacking the leadership is to keep them relevant. But in all these attacks and counterattacks, the Gandhi family is silent.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, the second senior Congress leader after former Union Minister Kapil Sibal to speak about the party's dismal show in the Bihar Assembly polls, said that the Congress should shed the five-star culture, at least during elections and the leaders should reach out to the people.

Azad also insisted that the elections should be held at different levels of the party so that people become responsible and work for the party.

He also said that there were no issues with the first family in the Congress and gave a clean chit to interim party chief Sonia Gandhi and former President Rahul Gandhi.

He also noted that the party should be more active at the ground level during elections, a statement that has been perceived as a direct criticism of the leaders involved in the Bihar elections.

Sibal too had raised similar concerns. Contending that he was "compelled to speak publicly" as there was "no forum in the party to discuss party issues". He also said the Congress needs efficient and senior leaders to manage elections.

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