After the seven-hour-long stormy meeting of its Working Committee on Monday, the Congress acknowledged the letter sent to president Sonia Gandhi by 23 senior leaders calling for sweeping changes in the party but neither discussed its contents nor gave any specific commitments on the way forward. Instead, most of those present at the meeting slammed the 23, questioned and criticised the intent and the timing of their letter even as they pledged loyalty to the Sonia-Rahul family and “resolved to strengthen their hands.”
Significantly, the resolution after the meeting said that the “two voices that have been at the forefront of exposing the government” are of Sonia and Rahul. It is learnt that the party has decided to set up a committee to assist Sonia to look into “all issues,” including those raised by the 23 leaders. While Sonia will continue as interim party president for now, an AICC session is likely to be convened in the next four to six months to elect a new president.
The CWC meeting, held via video conference, came after Sonia’s signal on Sunday that she was not keen to continue as the interim president. The meeting turned into a vote of confidence in Sonia’s leadership, and a reiteration of the party’s faith in the Nehru-Gandhi family.
The unprecedented letter, signed by 23 party leaders, sought a “full time and effective leadership” which is both “visible” and “active” in the field; elections to the CWC; and the urgent establishment of an “institutional leadership mechanism” to “collectively” guide the party’s revival.
At the meeting, the letter remained on paper. After Sonia conveyed at the outset that she was unwilling to continue, many asked Rahul Gandhi to take over. Sonia’s letter asking the CWC to “begin deliberation” to start the process to find a full-time president was read out by AICC general secretary in-charge of organisation, K C Venugopal. Sources said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony were the first to ask Sonia to continue in the top post till a full-time president is elected. Antony, considered close to Sonia Gandhi, attacked the dissenters saying the letter was “cruel” in nature.
Among those present at the meeting were four of the 23 who signed the letter – Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Mukul Wasnik and Jitin Prasada. The meeting saw a well-choreographed attack against the signatories, said sources. Rahul is learnt to have taken the lead, as he questioned the timing of the letter, arguing that it was sent at a time when the party was fighting to save its government in Rajasthan and when his mother was in hospital. He also suggested that a structure needs to be put in place to assist the party president in handling the party’s affairs and functioning till a new president is elected.
Importantly, Rahul is learnt to have said that Sonia’s continuation as interim president can’t be open-ended and a new president should be elected as early as possible. Both Rahul and Priyanka are learnt to have said that the process to elect a new president should be carried out within six months.
Taking the cue from Rahul, leaders like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Ambika Soni lashed out at the 23 signatories. Soni is learnt to have demanded disciplinary action against them and told Azad that he became Jammu and Kashmir chief minister because Sonia had campaigned in Srinagar, ignoring security concerns.
Sources said Chowdhury interjected when Azad defended the letter, saying “you should not try to defend the indefensible”. Speaking later, he asked the leaders who wrote the letter “what is the panacea you have at your disposal which may revive the party… you enjoyed proximity and accessibility to Sonia Gandhi and you thought it prudent to write the letter…”
Party veteran and AICC treasurer Ahmed Patel is learnt to have targeted Sharma, saying he had misinterpreted the concept of collective leadership and asked whether he meant that Sonia should sit at home. Patel told Sharma that he was considered to be an expert in drafting letters and asked him whether he had read the letter before signing it. He also asked Rahul to take over as Congress president.
Senior leader P Chidambaram neither referred to the letter nor said anything against those who had written it. He said there are certain issues which need to be addressed but did not elaborate.
Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Satav lashed out at Azad on the issue of collective leadership, asking whether he, as general secretary in-charge of Haryana, was not taking decisions without holding discussions with the state unit.
Sonia, in her closing remarks, is learnt to have said that she doesn’t hold any “ill-will” against those who wrote the letter. “Let’s move ahead… what has happened has happened,” a leader quoted her as saying.
“We are a large family. We have differences and different views on many occasions, but in the end we come together as one. The need of the hour is to fight for the cause of the people and the forces that are failing this country… Organisational issues are always addressed and the process of constitution and reconstitution is a continuous one,” party communication department head Randeep Surjewala quoted her as saying.
