New Delhi: Even though the Congress was indicating that the internal crisis over the "dissent letter" was done and dusted, there is still no sign of truce between the grand old party and the 23 dissenters.
Despite reaffirming their faith in the Gandhis, a Congress unit from Uttar Pradesh demanded action against the dissenters. Some of the 23 'dissenters' expressed displeasure for being criticised and "officially targeted" by their own colleagues.
A resolution was passed by the Congress' Lakhimpur Kheri unit, demanding strict action against the dissenters, including the expulsion of Jitin Prasada, who was one of the signatories of that letter.
Miffed with the opposition by leaders from within their own party, Congress senior leader Kapil Sibal tweeted, "Unfortunate that Jitin Prasada is being officially targeted in UP. Congress needs to target the BJP with surgical strikes instead of wasting its energy by targeting its own"
While responding to Sibal's statement, Manish Tewari, another signatory of the letter, tweeted, "Prescient!"
The resolution passed by the Congress' district committee of Lakhimpur Kheri stated, "The District Congress Committee (DCC) demands that disciplinary action should be taken against all those who signed the letter and they should be expelled from the party."
The top Congress brass of more than 20 leaders demanded a "full-time, active and visible leadership" on ground, in their letter, which witnessed a sharp backlash during the CWC meet, with a number of leaders including Ambika Soni, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, Rajiv Satav, Sushmita Dev along with many others, who call themselves "Congress loyalists", demanding strict actions against the "party dissenters".
Read:Congress letter row: Unfortunate that Jitin Prasada being targeted, says Kapil Sibal
However, at the end of CWC meeting, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi said in her concluding remarks that Congress is like a family and it should work together as one, despite differences among its members. Gandhi also asserted that she has "no ill-will" against the dissenters as they are colleagues.
When contacted, PJ Kurien, former Rajya Sabha deputy Chairman and one of the signatories of the letter, said to ETV Bharat, "What Congress President has said is the final thing. She has said that we are a family and she will surely discuss the matter. Further, she has also called it a close chapter, so that it is."
Speaking on Maharastra Congress Minister Sunil Kedar's remarks, Kurien said, "That is his personal view. But in the party, what Congress President has said will stand and will prevail. I'm sure that our issues will be addressed."
Kedar had issued an open threat to three Congress leaders, Prithviraj Chavan, Mukul Wasnik and Milind Deora, saying that either they apologise to the Gandhis or else they will not be allowed to roam freely within the state.
According to sources, both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have spoken to almost all of the 23 leaders who signed that letter and gave assurance to them that their concerns will be addressed. Some of the leaders even clarified that they are not against Gandhis' leadership but also stressed over the need of restructuring of the party.
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Congress is also mulling to constitute a four-member panel, which will discuss about the concerns raised in the letter. Those who had written that letter are hoping that the committee would have at least one leader who can question the current style of functioning of party.
Raising concern over the matter, sacked Congress spokesperson, Sanjay Jha, tweeted, "It is a myth that the biggest political adversary of the Congress is the BJP, actually it is the Congress itself."
Jha has been quite vocal about his views over the need of reforms within Congress, due to which he was sacked from the party. He was the first who revealed that a number of Congress leaders have written a letter to Congress President demanding rejuvenation within the party.
