Top Congress leaders write To Sonia, Seek “full-time” leadership

New Delhi?Aug,23 : A key internal meeting of the Congress tomorrow will discuss a letter written by more than 20 top leaders of the party that has pointed to the deep crisis within and sought sweeping reforms. The letter, signed by senior leaders like Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Prithviraj Chavan, Vivek Tankha and Anand Sharma, pointed to the steady decline of the party as the country faces its “gravest political, social and economic challenges since Independence”. While calling for a “full-time”, “visible” leadership, the letter also praised the leadership provided by the Gandhis over the years.
The letter called for a “full-time”, “effective leadership” that will be “visible” and “active” in the field – reflecting the criticism from a section about the leadership of the Gandhi family. It, however, praised the Gandhis and said they will remain an integral part of the “collective leadership”.
The letter called for elections to pick the members of the Working Committee – the highest decision-making body of the party. The process of election, which was the norm earlier, has recently been replaced by nomination from the party chief. The letter also called for an “honest introspection”, suggested a “collective leadership”, and stressed that the “youth are losing confidence” in the party. Over the last weeks, there has been a push from various senior leaders of the party including Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor for reforms.This morning, Mr Tharoor tweeted a quote by Jawaharlal Nehru that read, “Without passion and urge, there is a gradual oozing out of hope and vitality, a settling down on lower levels of existence, a slow merging into non-existence. We have become prisoners of the past and some part of its immobility sticks to us”.
In June, the Congress sacked Sanjay Jha as spokesperson after his very public takedown of the party in a newspaper article over the revolt of senior leader Sachin Pilot, which plunged the Congress government in Rajasthan into crisis. On Monday, the Congress had rubbished a tweet by Mr Jha that said around 100 Congress leaders have written to Sonia Gandhi asking for a change in the political leadership.Last year, Sonia Gandhi — who had taken a backseat following health issues — had to take up the reins of the party after Rahul Gandhi stepped down from the party chief’s post after its rout in the Lok Sabha elections. But a year down the line, the leadership issue had not been sorted. Mrs Gandhi, 73, however, has made it clear that she does not want to continue in view of her health. There is a strong chorus within the party to bring back Rahul Gandhi, sources said. A small group within the party is however critical, and argue that Rahul Gandhi and his team lack political experience, which has made him a non-performing asset electorally.