Sonia Gandhi offers to resign amid calls for 'full-time' Congress President

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has asked the party to find a new president after a group of leaders flagged the lack of a “full-time” president, setting the tone for a stormy meeting on the Congress Working Committee on August 24.

The battle lines were drawn with 23 leaders writing a letter to the Congress President, which was seen by a large section of the party as an attempt the divert the attention from pressing issues such as the sagging economy and create confusion in the minds of millions of party workers.

Stung by the first united attempt by a section of the leaders to call for organisational elections and steady the party that appeared adrift with the absence of a full-time president, Gandhi, 73, is learnt to have conveyed her desire to step down and asked the party to look for a new leader.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy issued statements decrying attempts by the 23 leaders to call for a “complete overhaul” in the party.

Amarinder termed the demand for leadership change in the Congress as “untenable”, contending that a complete overhaul at this juncture would be “detrimental” to the interests of the party and the nation.

“Sonia Gandhi should continue to helm the Congress as long as she wanted,” the Punjab Chief Minister said, and added that Rahul should thereafter take over as he was fully competent to lead the party.

Baghel termed Sonia and Rahul as a “ray of hope” for the party in challenging times. “The nation can get rid of the crisis it was going through only under your leadership,” the Chhatisgarh Chief Minister said.

While the 23 leaders, including veterans Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma to youngsters Manish Tewari, Milind Deora and Jitin Prasada, have called for sweeping changes in the Congress organisation, a section of party leaders see it as a move to derail Rahul’s return to the helm of party affairs.

Though the letter calls for sweeping changes in the Congress party, it has not criticised the leadership of Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi.

State units of the Congress rallied behind the Gandhi family terming the action of the 23 leaders questioning their leadership as “unfortunate”.

“It is unfortunate that the leadership of the Gandhi family is questioned by few. In these difficult times of undeclared emergency and attack on democracy by the BJP, we should collectively strive to strengthen Congress and not weaken it,” former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

State Congress Presidents of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu also issued statements supporting the Gandhis.

“This letter is a new conspiracy to blunt the leadership of Rahul Gandhi,” former Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam said asking Rahul to stop being adamant and return as Congress President.

Rahul had quit as Congress President in July last year, accepting the responsibility of the party’s second successive debacle in the Lok Sabha elections and conveyed that the Congress should look beyond the Gandhi family for leadership.