Updated: August 30, 2020 11:38:17 pm
Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sonia Gandhi and Kapil Sibal. (Express file photo)
In a message to the signatories of the unprecedented letter to Sonia Gandhi, which one triggered confusion in the party, Congress said Sunday that it is inappropriate for any leader to comment publicly on internal party affairs after its interim chairman called for collective advancement at a recent Congressional Working Committee (CWC) meeting, where they discussed The Leadership issues were carried out.
The congressional reaction came as some party leaders continued to make public statements on the issue after 23 top congressional leaders sent a letter to Gandhi calling for radical changes in the party, such as having an “effective and full-time leadership” that is “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 resurgence.
Congressional spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said the party should collectively move forward in the direction and manner suggested by its president Sonia Gandhi during the seven-hour meeting of the CWC. He stated that he was not referring to individuals, individual press conferences or reports.
“Is a free country. No one is censored for speaking or not speaking, ”Singhvi said, the PTI news agency reported.
“But let me clarify one thing, we had a marathon discussion on various topics for seven hours and at the end of which, the president of Congress clearly said that we discussed it openly as a family and now we must look to the future, and the momentum and the directions should be to the future. We have to move together forgetting the past, ”he told reporters while speaking of public comments made by some leaders.
“Once the president of Congress has said it, I believe that the letter and the spirit must be observed in every way,” said Singhvi. “I don’t think it’s appropriate after that for me or anyone else to comment, whether to be in the center of the press, whether for the headlines or not,” he said.
The main leader of Congress, Kapil Sibal, one of the signatories of the letter, in a interview to The Indian Express on Saturday he pointed out that none of the concerns they had raised were addressed – or even shared – at the CWC meeting and lamented that no leader intervened when rebel leaders were attacked.
Sibal said the CWC should have been informed of what the letter said. “That is the fundamental thing that should have happened. This is what these 23 people have written. If you find fault with something we have written, then surely we can be questioned and should be questioned. “
He argued that Congress needs a “de jure and de facto president” and the concerns outlined in the letter must be addressed as soon as possible.
Although the letter was not discussed, “in the course of the meeting (CWC) they called us traitors and no one present at that meeting, including the leaders, told them that this is not the type of language” used in the Congress. “Our letter … every part of it was expressed in very civilized language,” he said.
The opposition leader in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, while justifying the decision to write to the head of Congress, said it was in the party’s interest to hold elections to the CWC (the party’s highest decision-making body) and present suggested changes. , “Otherwise, Congress will continue to sit in opposition for the next 50 years.”
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay up to date with the latest headlines
For the latest news about India, download the Indian Express app.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
.
