Updated: November 23, 2020 8:36:46 am
Azad criticized the “five-star culture” in the party during the elections. (Archive)
The confusion in Congress that resurfaced after the party’s poor performance in the Bihar elections and by-elections shows no signs of abating. On Sunday, Ghulam Nabi Azad, one of 23 top leaders who wrote the unprecedented letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding radical changes in the party, said that the “organizational system” of Congress has collapsed and his position will not improve unless it is carry out reforms.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Azad, leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said that the situation in Congress “is not good” but argued that “getting it right is in our hands.” He admitted that “our leaders have lost connection with the people on the ground.”
The only solution for the party’s resurgence, he said, is organizational choice from the booth level up.
He said the pandemic has “derailed” attempts to reform the organization, but argued that “as we have a clear window,” the leadership should push through reforms to strengthen the party.
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“The defeat in Bihar and the by-elections is of great concern to the party. And for this, I do not blame the national leadership. We will not improve our standing in any state unless we have elections at the block, district and PCC level, which has been our demand from day one. By demanding this, we are strengthening the hands of the leadership and the party. ,” he said.
Azad’s comments come after his party colleague, Kapil Sibal, said that the poor performance of Congress in the recent Bihar elections and in the elections underscored that people no longer saw the party as an “effective alternative” and that the leadership was not addressing the party’s problems.
Azad criticized the “five-star culture” in the party during the elections. “During the elections, the general trend these days… which is not only in the Congress but also in the BJP… but the BJP has the advantage that they have other grassroots groups that are so ingrained in the towns and small towns and villages … You can afford this luxury of returning by helicopter to the capital city and spending the night. But since we don’t have that kind of party structure at the grassroots, block and district level like the regional parties or the BJP … we should, instead of being tempted to go back to the state capital by helicopter and stay in a hotel and lose productive hours…. The leaders of Congress, whether they are general secretaries, secretaries, PCC chairmen or other star activists … must remain at the district and taluka level. “
Qualifying the party’s situation as “not good” and that “doing it well is in our hands,” he said that congressmen have lost connection on the ground “because we don’t have the elected bodies … (which) have to be obligated to be in touch “. with the people.”
Azad said that those who are speaking should not be treated as rebels.
“We are not rebels. We are reformists. The rebels want to eliminate a person who is in a position and replace him with himself. Reformers are the ones who don’t care about leadership. It is one who wants to strengthen the system. We are in favor of strengthening the system that needs reforms. And these reforms are integrated into the constitution of our party ”.
Azad said: “nothing will change … by changing leadership at the national level,” Azad said: “Noticeable change will take place only if we put the system in order at the state, district and cabin level … This system is it derailed after the death of Rajiv Gandhi. In the middle were also two other presidents. After the death of Rajiv Gandhi, this whole system collapsed, “he said.
When asked if the leadership is in the mood to listen, he said: “It is not true that the leadership is not listening. We had made five demands: a full-time president and elections that should be held immediately for that and an elected (Congressional) Working Committee. Both have been agreed. Even Rahul Gandhi and Ms. Gandhi wanted it to take place only in October. But because of Covid, it was not possible … The real strengthening of the party will come when elections are held for the block, district and state committees … the leadership has not said that they will not.
“We would have gone crazy and said to do it only tomorrow … but I’m not sure how long Covid is going to continue.”
When he pointed out that the BJP’s top management has been conducting party activities even in the midst of the pandemic, he said: “They have special planes. That luxury we don’t have. “
When asked about the Goa trip of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, he said: “Going to Goa is not prohibited. Goa is part of India … If the leader goes on vacation for three to four days, the world does not stand still … If we have the elected system at all levels … then it doesn’t matter how much time the leadership spends superior states or in office or out “.
Hours earlier, former Union Minister Salman Khurshid said there was no leadership crisis in the party and that general support for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul was “evident to anyone who is not blind.” Stating that there were enough forums in Congress to air views, Khurshid told PTI: “The leadership listens to me, they give me a chance, they (those who criticize in the media) have a chance, where is this coming from … leadership is not listening?
When asked about some leaders calling for a full-time president, Khurshid said they should come forward and talk about it within the party. “See our leader and tell him it doesn’t look good without a tag. The leader will take a call, ”Khurshid said.
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