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‘G-23 leaders weakening Congress,’ says party veteran Veerappa Moily
“Sonia Gandhi wants reforms within the Congress party but people around her have sabotaged it,” the former Karnataka chief minister said.
Veteran Congress leader Veerappa Moily on Friday slammed the G-23 leaders as he accused them of "targeting Sonia Gandhi and weakening the party. "Sonia Gandhi wants reforms within the Congress party but people around her have sabotaged it. G-23 leaders are targeting the senior leader and weakening the Congress. The BJP cannot be a perennial party and it will not stand the turmoil of politics after (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi," the former Karnataka chief minister was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"Just because we're not in power, Congress leaders or workers should not panic. The BJP and other parties are transit passengers, they'll come and go, it's the Congress that'll remain here. We should be committed to the downtrodden and need not lose hope," the 82-year-old leader further said. The remarks came amid speculation of a meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Ghulam Nabi Azad at her residence on Friday.
Two years back, the G-23 'rebel' leaders had written to the Congress chief, seeking urgent reforms in the party. With the fresh setback in the state elections, the dissidents have been holding meetings again. They have met twice in two days this week. Shashi Tharoor, who is not a part of the group, also joined them.
Former president Rahul Gandhi opened a line of communication with the G23, or the rebel group of senior leaders, for the first time in many months on Thursday when he invited former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at his residence for talks.
Dissenting senior Congress leaders, on Wednesday met at the residence of former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad for the second day in a row amid an open spat within the grand old party following the poll debacle of Congress in five states and a row and accountability over leadership. The rebel leaders also issued a joint statement after the meeting saying that the only way forward for the Congress was to adopt a model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision-making at all levels.
Congress was voted out of power in Punjab where it faced a humiliating poll defeat. It also could not revive its fortunes in Manipur, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh or Goa.
