New Delhi (Sputnik): India’s Congress party, which has been associated with the national freedom movement, is now in dire straits over leadership issues. Since 2014, when the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party swept general elections, the Congress has been reduced to an abysmal tally in the Parliament and also lost power in several major states.
Nearly 23 senior Congress members and lawmakers have written to the party’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi, urging her to consider the complete overhaul of the party leadership.
In the letter, the members of the party stated that the “uncertainty” over the leadership demoralises the cadre and has also weakened the organisation.
The development comes on the heels of a Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday, an important meet-up where the issue is supposed to be discussed.
The Congress party was led by the-chief Rahul Gandhi, who stepped down as party president after it performed poorly in the 2019 general elections. The charge was then interimly taken by his mother, party veteran Sonia Gandhi.
However, with Rahul being vocal on the current hot issues in the country as the symbolic head of the party, and the reports that he may soon assume the charge again, the letter demands change without mentioning the Gandhi scion.
Several leaders of the Congress had been vocal about leadership change on social media. Former party spokesperson Sanjay Jha took to Twitter to mention the letter long before it came out in the media.
However, the party leadership rebutted his claims calling it an attempt to divert attention from Facebook-BJP links – a burning issue in India after an American daily alleged that Facebook had loosened its hate-speech norms for a BJP lawmaker.
Jha, who was suspended for “anti-party” activities, has several times called for a leadership change in the party. He has demanded that a non-Gandhi be established as a party chief.
India’s Congress has often been targeted by the ruling BJP for indulging in dynastic politics, and not allowing an alternative leadership to come up. The party, when led by Rahul Gandhi, saw its parliamentary seats fall below 60, making it difficult to claim even ‘leader of opposition’ status.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
