Azad writes to Sonia, seeks CWC meeting; party workers protest against Sibal’s jibe
Amid the turmoil in the Punjab Congress, voices of resentment against the role of the Central Congress leadership have once again grown loud. Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday sharpened his attack on the party high command asking who is taking the decisions for the party.
Another senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has written to party president Sonia Gandhi demanding an immediate meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to discuss the current state of affairs in the organisation.
The sharp criticism by Sibal did not go down well with a section of party workers who agitated in front of his residence with placards that read “Get well soon, Kapil Sibal”.
Youth Congress national president BV Srinivas took to Twitter and in a reply to Sibal's “who is the party president?”, said, “Suniye Ji-Huzoor, the party president is the one who always ensured that you reach Parliament, who made you a minister when the party was in power, who made you a Rajya Sabha member when the party has been in the Opposition. And now when the time comes for struggle...”
Sources said Azad, a former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha who currently leads the “Group of 23” leaders who have demanded organisational overhaul in the past, has sought internal discussions in the wake of exodus of its leaders.
At the same time, Lok Sabha MP from Punjab Manish Tewari stated that the kind of politics that was going on in his home State was unfortunate, and since it is a sensitive border State, Pakistan may try to fish in the troubled waters.
Addressing a Press conference, Sibal, who is part of the G-23 members (group of senior Congress leaders unhappy over the state of affairs in the party) also questioned the delay in the election of the party president, saying the party was in a situation where it should not be.
“In our party, there is no president. So we don’t know who is taking these decisions. We know and yet we don’t know”, Sibal said, claiming to speak on behalf of the group of 23 leaders.
The G-23 leaders wrote a strongly worded letter to party president Sonia Gandhi last year, raising questions over the manner in which the party was being led.
Party general secretary Ajay Maken rebutted Sibal saying, “Sonia Gandhi ji had ensured that Kapil Sibal becomes a Minister in the Union Cabinet despite not having organisational background. Everyone in the party is being heard. Want to tell Sibal and others that they shouldn’t degrade the organisation that gave them an identity.”
Sibal said he and other G-23 leaders did not want to leave the party but strengthen it. “I am speaking in my personal capacity and on behalf of like-minded people who had written the letter last year. I stand here with a heavy hart. I am a part of a party that has a glorifying past. I can’t see the situation it is at the moment,” Sibal said.
Sibal’s remarks come at a time when the Punjab Congress unit is in a fresh crisis after Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief on Tuesday. Sidhu’s announcement came as a shock to the Congress central leadership, which oversaw a leadership change in the State in the last 10 days.
Sibal said the situation the party is in today is due to the fact that it is without a leader. “There is no president. The demand is growing to call CWC (Congress Working Committee) to have some dialogue,” he said.
Sibal said he and the G-23 leaders were not among those who would leave the Congress to join other parties. “Ironically, those who were supposed to be close to the central leadership have left them,” he said.
“I would urge those leaders who left to come back because the Congress party is alone which can save the country,” he added.
