Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan responded to the chaos in the Congress
New Delhi:
As the Congress lurched deeper into crisis on Monday afternoon, divided over an explosive letter written by more than 20 veteran leaders targeting the Gandhi family’s management of the party and calling for “a full-time, visible leadership”, senior BJP figures took potshots at the opposition party.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was among those who responded to the seemingly endless chaos in the Congress camp, picking up on comments allegedly made by Rahul Gandhi that alluded to the authors of the letter as having colluded with the BJP.
“When Scindiaji raised his voice, he was accused of colluding with BJP. Now, when leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal are demanding a full-time party chief, they’re also being accused of colluding with BJP. No one can save such a party,” Mr Chouhan tweeted.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti also spoke out, declaring the “political dominance” of the Nehru-Gandhi family “over” and the party itself as “finished”.
“Gandhi-Nehru family’s existence is in crisis; their political dominance is over. Congress is finished. So who stays in what position hardly matters now. Congress should return to Gandhi, the real ‘swadeshi’ Gandhi without any foreign element,” Uma Bharti told news agency ANI, throwing in a swipe at Sonia Gandhi’s Italian roots for good measure.
#WATCH Gandhi-Nehru family’s existence is in crisis, their political dominance is over, Congress is finished.. so who stays in what position hardly matters now… Congress should return to Gandhi, the real ‘swadeshi’ Gandhi without any foreign element: BJP leader Uma Bharti pic.twitter.com/oZQVVmnl7Q
— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2020
Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s comment came amid reports that an incensed Rahul Gandhi had hit out at the dissenting Congress leaders. Mr Gandhi reportedly said the letter writers had colluded with the BJP.
Mr Sibal, 72, who responded angrily to the alleged comment, later deleted his tweet and said he had been “personally informed” by Mr Gandhi that no such comment had been made.
Both the Congress and Mr Gandhi subsequently put out clarifications, saying such comments had never been made. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted, urging party leaders to fight “draconian Modi rule” rather than continue infighting.
Sh. Rahul Gandhi hasn’t said a word of this nature nor alluded to it.
Pl don’t be mislead by false media discourse or misinformation being spread.
But yes, we all need to work together in fighting the draconian Modi rule rather then fighting & hurting each other & the Congress. https://t.co/x6FvPpe7I1
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 24, 2020
Targeted by Gandhi loyalists during the meeting for his part in the letter-writing, Mr Azad, 71, offered to resign if it was established that he had colluded with the BJP.
What I said was, yesterday some Congress person had said that we did it at behest of BJP & in that context I said “It is most unfortunate that some colleagues (outside CWC) have accused us of collusion with BJP, and if those people can prove this allegation, I will resign”.
— Ghulam Nabi Azad (@ghulamnazad) August 24, 2020
Kapil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leaders with decades of experience between them, are among the signatories of the letter that has sparked this row.
Another of the letter’s signatories told NDTV yesterday, on the condition of anonymity, that while the letter did not amount to criticism of the Gandhis, its authors did want “a complete overhaul of the Congress party in its management and styles”.
The point, though, of attacking leaders who have questioned the Gandhi family’s management style was not lost on the BJP’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Mr Chouhan took the top post in Madhya Pradesh in March, after ex-Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia crossed to the BJP and helped bring down the Kamal Nath government.
Widely viewed as a dynamic young leader, Mr Scindia was once among Rahul Gandhi’s closest aides. A four-time Lok Sabha MP for the Congress, he later said he grew steadily disenchanted with the Congress leadership and, despite repeatedly reaching out to high command to air his grievances, was rebuffed.
The Congress leadership – the Gandhi family in particular – was questioned over the fall of its Madhya Pradesh government, with some wondering if more decisive action could have saved it.
Meanwhile, amid the turmoil at the CWC meeting today Sonia Gandhi, who became interim President last year following Rahul Gandhi’s resignation, said she “wants to be relieved” of the post. Mrs Gandhi has frequently expressed a desire to stand down in view of her health.
An All India Congress Committee meeting to start the process of looking for a new chief was suggested by several Congress leaders.
This is the first time since 1999, when Sharad Pawar walked out over Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin, that the Congress has seen an organized revolt against the Nehru-Gandhi leadership.
With input from ANI
