Congress rallies behind Rahul in a show of unity

The protests were also an affirmation that the leaders both senior and junior preferred the leadership change in the way it is getting public projection, said party insiders. A general secretary said that the summons had given an opportunity to the party to brace for street protests that they plan to stage over public issues in the coming months, writes ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: As Sonia Gandhi recovered in a hospital, the entire Congress on Monday came out on the streets to express solidarity with Rahul Gandhi, who was called by the ED, indicating the leadership issue had almost been settled in the grand old party.

The leadership issue has been surfacing in the party over the past years as the Congress suffered poll losses and is likely to be settled when the internal elections conclude with an elected party chief in August-September.

There has been a buzz that Rahul, who was president of the party from 2017-2019, may again be back in the saddle. Enough indications towards that possibility emerged on Monday as several seniors, who have worked for years with Sonia Gandhi, came out in support of Rahul, who had been summoned by the ED for questioning in the National Herald money laundering case.

Sonia too has been summoned by the ED on June 23. Congress has termed the charges and the summons as “political vendetta by the BJP” and an attempt to defame the Gandhi family. Before Sonia’s date of appearance, a battery of Congress veterans like Ambika Soni, Digvijay Singh, Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh, Harish Rawat along with Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, AICC general secretary in-charge (organization) KC Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala, Youth Congress chief BV Srinivas, Meenakshi Natarajan besides several others courted arrest in protest against the summons.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, walked beside Rahul to the ED office, to express solidarity with her brother at a time when their Covid positive mother was recovering in a hospital. The leaders had gathered at the party headquarter in the morning even as the police blocked entrances to the venue from all sides, making it impossible for the leaders to stage a march. Yet, they protested, both in Delhi and across the country.

“The protests have shown that the Gandhis still are a big draw in the Congress system and any attempt to target them will provoke strong reactions,” said a CWC member. Party insiders said the workers were angry over the unnecessary targeting of their leadership at a time when Congress is trying to revive itself nationally.

The protests were also an affirmation that the leaders both senior and junior preferred the leadership change in the way it is getting public projection, said party insiders. A general secretary said that the summons had given an opportunity to the party to brace for street protests that they plan to stage over public issues in the coming months.

The idea, again, flows from Rahul, who believes there is room for mass movements against the central government’s policies and for the grand old party to go back to the people.