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Amid Congress vs Congress following Punjab crisis, party says working committee meet soon
Ghulam Nabi Azad wrote to Sonia Gandhi requesting an urgent meeting for the party amid the situation the party finds itself in the wake of several factions and massive exodus.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi indicated that the working committee meeting will take place soon, party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told news agency PTI on Thursday at a time when the rumblings of dissent inside the party are growing louder in the aftermath of the Punjab crisis.
"Before leaving for Shimla, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had already indicated that a CWC meeting shall be called very soon. Accordingly, the CWC meeting shall be held in the coming days," Surjewala told PTI.
How did it start?
G-23 is not new. But the Punjab crisis which saw the resignation of veteran Congress leader Amarinder Singh has given voice to the G-23 leaders as Kapil Sibal on Wednesday posed some serious questions in front of the government. He said the party needs to introspect and many people whom the high command used to think of as loyalists are leaving the party. He said G-23 is not ‘Ji Huzoor 23’ and hence the group of rebel leaders will continue raising questions, though ironically these rebel leaders are not the ones who are deserting the party. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad wrote to Sonia Gandhi requesting a meeting.
Hitting back at Sibal, Surjewala had said, "Every Congressman and woman must also seriously introspect whether by their words and actions they are attempting to weaken the Congress in the times of crisis."
3 people running Congress, 1 with no designation: Natwar Singh's swipe at Rahul
G-23 is, however, the grouping of the 23 senior Congress leaders who wrote a letter to the party in 2020 asking for sweeping changes in the party. Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Kapil Sibal, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Milind Deora, Renuka Chaudhary, Bhupinder Singh Hooda were some of the prominent signatories of the letter.
The comments drew sharp reaction from a section of Congress leaders who agitated in front of Sibal's house with placards reading ‘Get well soon, Kapil Sibal’.
Shashi Tharoor supports Kapil Sibal, says he fought many legal battles for Congress
After the Kapil Sibal incident, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, P Chidambaram tweeted condemning the vandalism outside Sibal's house.
Old generation versus new generation
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh who announced on Thursday that he will be severing his ties with the Congress said the party has been sidelining the old generation leaders while they are the actual thinkers. The new generation leaders are best to implement the plans, Amarinder Singh said.
Rahul Gandhi under attack
Sonia Gandhi is the interim party president while Rahul Gandhi's role has brought him under the direct attack of the senior Congress leaders. Without naming anyone, Kapil Sibal on Wednesday said the party has no president and hence he does not know who takes the decision in the party. On Thursday, senior Congress leader Natwar Singh said three people are running the Congress and among them, one has no designation. He named Rahul Gandhi and said he calls the shots in the party.
