Chintan Shivir was not to discuss Rahul as Congress president, says Maken

There was speculation during the shivir from May 13-15 that many leaders had wanted Rahul Gandhi to again take up the top party post while some had suggested that Priyanka Gandhi should step up if Rahul was not open to the proposal, writes ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri

New Delhi: The issue of who leads the Congress was not discussed at the three-dayChintan Shivir in Udaipur, the Congress said on Tuesday adding that a separate process to elect the new party president is going on. “The issues discussed at the Shivirwere based on the six groups that had been formed for the purpose. There was no panel on making Rahulji the party president. The leadership issue was not discussed at the shivir and no decision on the issue could be taken there,” said Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken.

There was speculation during the Shivirfrom May 13-15 that many leaders had wanted Rahul Gandhi to again take up the top party post while some had suggested that Priyanka Gandhi should step up if Rahul was not open to the proposal. “The process of internal polls is on and the election for the post of new party president would be held in August-September,” Maken said, trying to clear the air over the issue.

According to Maken, the focus now is on implementing the process of promised change in the grand old party and far-reaching decisions will be taken over the coming days. “Today AICC general secretary organization KC Venugopal reviewed the Nav Sankalp Declaration with all the general secretaries,” he said. A similar review on how to implement structural changes will be held at the party’s national headquarters on Wednesday, following which a similar exercise will also be taken up at the level of state units.

The proposed steps include having half of all office bearers below 50 years of age, a new department to do scientific surveys and assess the current political situation, revamping the communication system, and a group to review the performance of party leaders. “We are committed to bringing about these changes,” said Maken, adding the new rules will apply to all existing general secretaries.

On limiting the tenure of the office-bearers to five years, Maken clarified that the rule did not apply to the Congress president as the person holding that office had an unlimited tenure as per the party constitution. Maken alleged the BJP was trying to break India and said that Congress' proposed nationwide yatra was to bring people together.

“The BJP is dividing people of the country in the name of religion and between rich and poor. When you divide the people, you break the country. The BJP should reconsider the way they are functioning. We urge them not to divide the people. It will take generations to reunite them again. You are breaking the country,” said Maken.