- Tuesday, April 16, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Indian National Congress, India’s main opposition party, on Sunday (4) buried speculations that it was contemplating a change in its leadership in the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Parliament. The party slammed the media reports that hinted at such a possibility calling them “premature and unfounded” and added that no such decision has been taken up at the top level.
“The news of a change of leadership of the party in the Lok Sabha are premature and unfounded,” agencies could a senior Congress leader as saying.
Earlier, reports did the rounds that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was likely to replace the current leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, ahead of the monsoon session that commences on July 19.
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Sources told agencies that the while the party was reviewing its recent election losses in a number of states, no decision was yet taken at the top level to change its Lok Sabha leadership.
Chowdhury could be removed to make way for Congress-Trinamool camaraderie?
Chowdhury, a firebrand leader from the eastern Indian state of West Bengal who is also his party’s chief in the state, is known to be a staunch critic of the G-23 group of leaders in the Congress and stands firmly with the top leadership. It is being speculated that by removing Chowdhury, the party leadership was signalling its intent to strike a conciliatory note with the group that wants sweeping changes in the organisation.
Also, since Chowdhury is a vocal critic of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, with whom Sonia Gandhi shares a rapport, it is being believed that removal of Chowdhury could be a plan to build bridges with Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress ahead of the general elections of 2024.
