‘Not one concern raised in letter was addressed by Congress Working Committee,’ claims Kapil Sibal
The Congress leader said no leader stepped in when those who wrote the letter were attacked and labelled as traitors at the CWC meeting.
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who is one of the 23 signatories of a letter calling for a overhaul in the leadership of the party, on Saturday said that none of the concerns they had shared have been addressed so far. In an interview with The Indian Express, Sibal claimed the party did not take up the matter at the Congress Working Committee meeting held on Monday, and that no leader “stepped in when those who wrote the letter were attacked”.
The Congress is in the middle of an internal crisis, which was triggered after 23 party leaders wrote to Sonia Gandhi on August 15, urging her to address the leadership question in the party. The leaders claimed the uncertainty around it “has demoralised party workers and weakened the institution”. A controversy erupted over it, after several Congress chief ministers and state units responded by pledging their allegiance to the Gandhis and questioned the loyalty of the signatories.
Sibal said taking up the contents of the letter by the CWC, was a “fundamental thing” that should have happened. “This is what these 23 people have written,” he added. “If you find fault with any of what we have written, then, surely, we can be questioned and we should be questioned.”
The senior Congress leader said the party’s denial to address the questions raised by him and others is an “example of distancing yourself from the cause”. “Not one request of ours, concern of ours, reflected in the letter has been sought to be addressed in that meeting, not one” he added. “Yet we are called dissenters.”
Sibal also alleged the signatories were called “traitors” at the CWC meeting and that “nobody sitting in that meeting, including the leadership told them that this is not the kind of language” used in the Congress. He said that contrary to this, “every part” of their letter was expressed in a “very civilised language”.
Besides Sibal, the signatories of the letter included former chief ministers such as Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Prithviraj Chavan, former minister Shashi Tharoor, and Milind Deora and Jitin Prasada.
Sibal asserted that Congress needs a “de jure and a de facto president” and the concerns outlined in the letter should be addressed “as soon as possible”.
He said the Congress has always accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of not following the Constitution of India and of “destroying the foundation of democracy”. “We want adherence to our [party’s] Constitution,” he added. “Who can object to that?”
The Congress leader claimed that politics in India is based now primarily on the question of loyalty. “[But] we need what is called loyalty plus,” he said. “What is that plus? That plus is merit, inclusiveness, commitment to the cause and that plus is about being able to listen and to have a dialogue. This is what politics should be.”
On Monday, the Congress Working Committee in a resolution said Sonia Gandhi will continue to be the interim president of the party after a marathon virtual meeting. Gandhi’s successor will be chosen within six months.
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