The knives are out in the Congress after the Delhi poll debacle with leaders blaming one another and at least one asking P. Chidambaram on Twitter whether the party had outsourced to others the task of defeating the BJP.
The party disapproved of the blame game and asked its leaders to introspect.
The rebuff came after Delhi Mahila Congress chief Sharmistha Mukherjee publicly asked Chidambaram if the state Congress units should shut shop in case the party had decided that others would take on the BJP across states.
The Congress promptly accepted the resignation of AICC Delhi in-charge P.C. Chacko after he appeared to put
the blame for the party’s decline in the national capital on the late Sheila Dikshit, saying the Congress started losing ground here in 2013. Dikshit was the Delhi chief minister then.
On Tuesday, Chidambaram had saluted the people of Delhi, adding: “AAP won, bluff and bluster lost. The people of Delhi, who are from all parts of India, have defeated the polarising, divisive and dangerous agenda of the BJP.”
Sharmistha, the daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, responded early on Wednesday: “With due respect sir, just want to know — has Congress outsourced the task of defeating BJP to state parties? If not, then why r we gloating over AAP victory rather than being concerned abt our drubbing? And if ‘yes’, then we (the PCCs) might as well close shop!”
Responding to her, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee working chief Devender Yadav said: “It’s really a matter of concern.”
For his part, Chacko said: “The party’s downfall started since 2013. It lost all the elections thereafter and the new outfit, the AAP, took away all the Congress’s vote bank,” Chacko said without naming Dikshit. With party colleague Milind Deora slamming him for his comments, Chacko said he had not named Dikshit and his remarks were wrongly interpreted to run a campaign against him.
“I did not name Sheilaji, who ensured good governance and an all-round development of Delhi during the 15-year Congress rule,” he said.
Chacko’s resignation was readily accepted by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, signalling her disapproval of his comments.
