- Tuesday, April 23, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
SENIOR Indian National Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday (29) expressed disappointment over the functioning of the party and said those who were considered to be close to the high command have deserted them while others were still standing by. He even said that the party has no president at present.
Sibal, a member of the Rajya Sabha or the upper house of the Indian parliament and a leader of the Congress’s G-23, said the party needed to listen to the point of view of the leaders and introspect. “Democracy can not be worked by 20 men sitting at the centre,” the 73-year-old said when the party’s unit in Punjab is witnessing one of its worst crises.
Punjab crisis: Congress high command upset with Sidhu’s decision
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday (28) stepped down from his post saying he was not ready to “compromise”. His resignation came just over a week after Captain Amarinder Singh quit as the chief minister of Punjab claiming he was being “humiliated”. Sidhu’s resignation was followed by those from a state minister and some leader of the party in the state, leaving the ruling party of the northern state in a disarray just months ahead of the next election.
“I believe that one of my senior colleagues has perhaps written or is about to write to Congress president to immediately convene a CWC (Congress working committee) meeting so that a dialogue can take place as to why we are in this state,” Sibal said adding that party has no president at present and hence he doesn’t know who takes these decisions. “We know and yet we don’t know,” he added.
Will Captain Amarinder Singh join BJP? Very unlikely, say opponent, expert
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has reportedly written a letter to Sonia Gandhi, asking her to convene an urgent meeting of CWC.
Sibal, a former central minister, said the G-23 will raise issues that need to be addressed.
“It is very clear. We are G-23 not Ji Huzoor 23. We will keep talking. We will continue to reiterate our demands,” Sibal said. The G-23 is a group of senior leaders of the Congress who have come together demanding an organisational overhauling of the party in the wake of its series of electoral defeats since 2014 when Narendra Modi became the prime minister.
Speaking on the current crisis in Punjab, Sibal, who was born in Jalandhar in the state said, “I don’t want to talk about Punjab but a border state where this is happening to Congress party means what? It is an advantage to ISI and Pakistan. We know the history of Punjab and the rise of extremism there… we know how forces across the border exploit the situation to create an atmosphere of uncertainty. It is these forces that are the biggest threat to the nation. Congress should make sure that they remain united. If somebody has an issue, it has to be discussed.”
Sonia Gandhi, who will turn 75 this December, is currently the president of the Congress. She served as the party’s president between 1998 and 2017 when her son Rahul Gandhi became the president but he left soon after the debacle in the 2019 general elections.
