As an intense power struggle rages between Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s team and the old guard, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid has slammed Mr. Gandhi for “walking away” soon after the 2019 results, robbing the party of an opportunity to carry out a detailed analysis.
“If he were there, we could have reflected on the 2019 general election result. But he did not stay despite requests from many of us. That’s a fact,” Mr. Khurshid told The Hindu . The party, he said, can’t administer a treatment if the very nature of the “ailment” was not known.
He expressed disappointment at the current arrangement with Sonia Gandhi leading the party as an “interim” president. “I am not pleased that we are using the word “interim.” I wish she will indicate that she is a regular president. I hope and wish she stays on as president.”
He did not subscribe to the view proffered by many of his colleagues like Shashi Tharoor that free and fair elections must be held for party president’s post. “There is no issue in holding elections... If I stand for one I will get ten votes. We all know the ground reality. You may wish the ground reality to be different, but the truth is that they [Gandhis] are heads and shoulders above us and we owe a lot to them. They are seen by the public as the national leaders of the Congress party,” Mr. Khurshid said.
Published - October 10, 2019 02:26 am IST
