Sonia stays in charge of Cong after acrimonious CWC meet

NEWDELHI: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Monday resolved that Sonia Gandhi will continue as party president until an All India Congress Committee (AICC) session is convened, rejecting the concerns raised by 23 Congress leaders who criticised the functioning of the party and asked for structural changes in a controversial letter whose contents became public last week.

The CWC — held in the backdrop of the first-ever show of dissent by prominent leaders against the party’s first family — authorised Sonia Gandhi to effect any necessary organisational changes, reaffirmed its faith in both Sonia and former president Rahul Gandhi.

There was sharp criticism of those who signed the letter at the party’s highest decision-making body, which met for seven hours on Monday and witnessed stormy exchanges between the leaders.the discussion focused largely on the timing of the letter, the intent behind it, and its leak; rather than on its contents.

Rahul Gandhi led the attack on the signatories by saying it came when the Congress was fighting political battles in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and Sonia Gandhi was in hospital. The CWC, in its formal resolution, also emphasised that issues must be raised within party forums in the interest of “propriety and discipline”, and not “through the media or in public fora”.

NEWDELHI: Informal deliberations over the need for reforms within the Congress party started at least five months ago at a dinner hosted by MP Shashi Tharoor, several Congressmen who were his guests have confirmed to HT — a disclosure that highlights that the letter sent to Sonia Gandhi by 23 leaders was in the making for some time.

Importantly, many who were a part of the dinner have not put their signatures to the letter, which was addressed to Gandhi and sent on August 7. Prominent among those who attended Tharoor’s dinner – but did not sign the letter asking for a “visible” and “active” leader – are former Union minister P Chidambaram, his son Karti, Sachin Pilot, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Mani Shankar Iyer.