The Congress dissidents, identified as G-23, on Wednesday appeared to accuse Rahul Gandhi of not running the party in a democratic spirit and trying to shut out those who differed with his views instead of allowing a conversation to strengthen unity.
Kapil Sibal, who held a news conference, didn’t name Rahul or Sonia Gandhi. But he said: “In our party at the moment there is no president. So we don’t know who is taking these decisions. We know and yet we don’t know.”
Sonia is the interim president.
Asked if he was referring to Rahul, he said: “I am not. But we all know who is taking decisions.”
He appeared to lay the entire blame on “them” for the Opposition’s weakness, for the exodus of “pampered” leaders and the absence of any attempt to harmonise differences.
Sibal said a letter was sent by a Congress Working Committee member to call a meeting urgently to discuss all the issues. He pleaded for a conversation and a dialogue, quoting Mahatma Gandhi. “No monopolies should be created in power structures of a country, nor in the power structures of a party,” he said.
Asked who they want to have a dialogue with, he said: “I don’t know.” The message was that there should be clarity on who is running the show.
A large number of leaders have alleged that Rahul was taking all the decisions but not taking the responsibility of the organisation, telling appointment-seekers that he was not the party chief.
Asked why they had timed this news conference now, to coincide with the developments in Punjab or the entry of youth leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani, Sibal said there was no particular reason but that they had been waiting for long.
Rahul Gandhi at the inauguration of a recreation centre for senior citizens at Thiruvambadi in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Wednesday PTI
Although Sibal declared that none of them would leave the party and said he would not comment on the Punjab developments, the timing of the news conference had been chosen to strike when the iron was hot. Former chief minister Amarinder Singh was in Delhi on Wednesday amid speculation that he would meet Amit Shah, which he did in the evening, and Navjot Singh Sidhu had quit as the state party chief.
Although there is no threat yet to the state government, Sibal said chaos in the border state meant advantage to Pakistani troublemakers. One of the G-23 members told The Telegraph: “The Sidhu episode is probably the worst example of leadership failure in the history of the Congress and Rahul should now understand the importance of experience and collective decision-making.”
The allegation of lack of internal democracy in the Congress came a day after Kanhaiya had described the Congress as the most democratic party.
Many leaders, even those who welcomed the entry of young leaders, lamented that Rahul had not initiated any process of reconciliation with the disgruntled senior leaders. They also concede that the leadership crisis had lingered far too long and Rahul should have legitimised his authority long ago.
Sources close to Rahul say a reconciliation was not possible because the dissidents were determined not to accept the transformation in the party which may end their eminence. The grapevine is abuzz with ambitious political plans of Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee and some leaders have already started talking about the futility of Opposition unity.
Sibal’s comments angered some in the party, with workers holding a demonstration against him. Youth Congress president B.V. Srinivas tweeted: “The party’s president and leadership is the same that always reached you to Parliament. In the party’s good times, you were made a minister. In the Opposition, you were sent to the Rajya Sabha. In good times and bad, they always gave you responsibilities. And now when it is time for struggle, then....”
