Member of the KH Muniyapa Congress Working Committee
Following the conclusion of the fiery meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) today, one of the CWC members, KH Muniyappa, speaking to the media said that ‘Madam’ (Sonia Gandhi) will continue in her post acting president of the Congress party until such time as the party elects a suitable person to replace her as president of the party.
“Madam (Sonia Gandhi) must continue and the election will take place as soon as possible, which is the unanimous decision of the working committee,” Muniyappa said after the Congress working committee meeting.
Madam (Sonia Gandhi) must continue and the election will take place as soon as possible, which is the unanimous decision of the working committee: Congress leader and member of the CWC (Congress Working Committee), KH Muniyappa pic.twitter.com/nKddUOhJhc
— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2020
Sonia Gandhi has asked Congress to relieve her of her role as party leader
According to reports, during the marathon 7-hour long meeting of members of the Congress Working Committee, Acting Congress Speaker Sonia Gandhi expressed her wish to be relieved of her post as party chair. Ms Gandhi’s request follows an explosive letter written by 23 senior leaders calling for “full-time visible leadership”.
Claiming to have been hurt by her colleagues, Ms Gandhi ended the meeting on a conciliatory note, saying she had no “ill will” against the dissidents.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had proposed a resolution asking Sonia Gandhi to continue. The party has set a six-month deadline for the Indian Congress committee to start the search for a new leader, as requested by Sonia Gandhi.
Several of the Congress leaders present at the meeting suggested that Sonia Gandhi hand over the reins of the party to Rahul Gandhi if she did not wish to continue as party chair. Rahul Gandhi tendered his resignation as party chairman last year after an embarrassing debacle in the 2019 general election.
CWC meeting called to discuss August 7 letter from 23 senior party officials
The CWC meeting was convened to discuss the letter issued on August 7 by 23 senior party leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor and Anand Sharma, calling for sweeping reforms within the party to dispel the uncertainty about the direction and curb a drift. who had demotivated workers. The letter, however, suggested that Gandhis would still be part of the “collective leadership” of the party.
Apparently, a controversy was sparked earlier today after several reports including NDTV reported that Rahul Gandhi was unhappy with the dissidents’ letter and accused them of colluding with the BJP.
Senior Kapil Sibal posted a tweet, expressing his anguish at being accused of colluding with the BJP despite having faithfully served the Congress for about 30 years. However, he later backtracked and deleted the tweet, posting a new tweet in which he claimed he was personally told by Rahul Gandhi that he never said what was attributed to him.
Similarly, Ghulam Nabi Azad had also submitted his resignation following the backlash caused by the letter. But, he too defended Rahul Gandhi, saying the MP for Wayanad made no remarks colluding with the BJP.
