Amidst in-party highs and lows among Congress leaders, Congress Party member Kapil Sibal has said that the party needs “leadership [that is] 24×7” at a time when it is at a “historic low”.
Kapil Sibal, for the unknown, is one of the 23 members that recently wrote to Sonia Gandhi seeking a “visible”, “effective” and “full-time” leader; elections at all levels in the party; and establishing an institutional leadership model to collectively guide the party, among other steps.
In an interview with HT, Kapil Sibal said that “If people have access to the letter, they will know it is not an attempt to belittle anyone, including the Gandhi family. In fact, we have appreciated the services rendered by the leadership thus far”.
“Our intent is to revive the party. We want to be partners in its revival. That is our commitment to the party constitution and the Congress legacy, and the absolute conviction that the Congress needs others to rally around, to oppose a government which has destroyed the very foundations on which the Indian Republic is built,” Kapil Sibal said adding that the Congress Party has been at its historic low and 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections are proof to that.
In the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting that took place after the letter reached President Sonia Gandhi, the leaders who signed it were criticised by other party members. In the seven-hour-long meet, there was a lack of discussion on the content of the letter with other leaders claiming that it is not right time for such things.
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Four of the 23 leaders — Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mukul Wasnik, Anand Sharma and Jitin Prasada — are members of the CWC. Other senior leaders who have signed the letter include Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tiwari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Prithviraj Chavan.
“I wish the substance had been circulated, then all those present (at the CWC meeting) would’ve realised that it (the letter) is about strengthening and reviving the Congress. One of those present even used the expression ‘traitor’. I wish those present had reprimanded him. There was not one uncivilised comment made in the communication. I am appalled that expressions like these are allowed within the highest forum,” Sibal added.
The committee had also decided that Sonia Gandhi shall continue as the interim President and fresh session will be held after six months to choose the next party President.
