NEW DELHI: Uncomfortable conversations have taken place between Congress leadership and the G-23 since both sides emerged from a stormy CWC meeting following the letter to the party chief Sonia Gandhi questioning absent leadership and organizational decline.
In the meantime, senior member Salman Khurshid he questioned the demand of election dissidents for the office of president and for the CWC, adding that the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had been part of the leadership for years, during which such elections never happened.
“We have a leader in Sonia Gandhi, Rahul gandhi. So, for me, there is no sense of urgency in choosing leaders. Elect a president, yes, that will happen when it happens, I can’t see the heavens fall. I am not clear about the sense of urgency that is being expressed, ”he said.
Sources said both sides have tried to ease tensions over continued irritants closing in while dissidents have been discussing the issues with each other. Interestingly, it emerged that a close associate of Rahul has contacted some of the letter writers in an attempt to gather their reasons for signing the letter.
Meanwhile, the general secretary of the party KC Venugopal He reached out to Shashi Tharoor to urge him to lower the stakes after a verbal war broke out between the Kerala unit and the diplomat-turned-politician. As a signatory, Tharoor faced angry reactions from his colleagues. It was learned that both the state unit and Venugopal urged him to bury the matter. While Tharoor followed up on the request with a tweet urging that the issue be ended, senior MP K Suresh withdrew his taunt against Tharoor calling him a “guest artist.”
Congressional sources said that Azad discussed with a high-ranking member the question of the appointment of Gaurav gogoi as deputy leader and Ravneet Bittu as whip in Lok Sabha, as the move was seen as the leadership’s irate message to Tharoor and Manish Tewari. Tewari has also signed the controversial letter. Similarly, the angry reaction of the party unit of Jitin Prasada’s home district was also addressed with the leadership.
As awkward interactions have taken place, dissident leaders are of the opinion that they should not react to provocations, as the “tremors” were natural after the group “shook” the big tree.
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