In a candid assessment of the chaos and inaction plaguing the Congress party, Union law minister Salman Khurshid has said that the root of the problems was the lack of "ideological direction" from its next generation leader Rahul Gandhi.

In an interview to The Indian Express, Khurshid said: "Until now, we have only seen cameos of his thought and ideas like democratising elections to the Youth Congress. But he has not weaved all of this into a grand announcement. This is a period of waiting."

The senior Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh also conceded that while Rahul was still reluctant to take charge, the Congress had no choice but to wait for him to make up his mind.

"The fact is that he is undoubtedly and unquestionably the number two leader in the party. Yet he has not taken up the mantle or accepted a functional responsibility. He is so far not willing to accept the number two position. In such a situation, we have to wait. This is a waiting time," Khurshid said.

According to him, the clear distinction between governance and politics in the UPA I government no longer existed in the present regime, even though the personalities involved were largely the same.