Ashok Gehlot bats for Rahul as AICC president

In her opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, interim President Sonia Gandhi said that she appreciated frankness and there is no need to speak to her through the media. Hence, she called upon party leaders to have a free and honest discussion.

New Delhi:Rahul Gandhi should be made the president of AICC, said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Interim President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday flayed party leaders for speaking to the media while addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. In her opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, she said: "I have always appreciated frankness. There is no need to speak to me through the media. So, let us all have a free and honest discussion. But, what should get communicated outside the four walls of this room is the collective decision of the CWC."

Sonia Gandhi's statement comes after senior party leader Kapil Sibal had recently said that "there is no president in our party, so we do not know who is taking all the decisions. We know it, yet we don't know, one of my senior colleagues perhaps has written or is about to write to the interim president to immediately convene a CWC meeting so that a dialogue can be initiated."

In her remarks on Saturday, she also said the party is ready for the internal elections. "The entire organisation wants a revival of the Congress. But, this requires unity and keeping the party's interests paramount. Above all, it requires self-control and discipline. I am acutely conscious of the fact that I have been interim Congress President ever since the CWC asked me to return in this capacity in 2019. We had thereafter, you may recall, finalised a roadmap for electing a regular President by June 30, 2021."

But due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the country, this deadline was extended indefinitely by the CWC in its meeting held on May 10, she added. "Today is the occasion for bringing clarity once and for all. A schedule for the full-fledged organisational elections is before you."

She also praised young leaders for taking over leadership role "In the last two years, a large number of our colleagues, particularly the younger ones have taken on leadership roles in taking party policies and programmes to the people, whether it be the agitation of farmers, provision of relief during the pandemic, highlighting issues of concern to youth and women, atrocities on Dalits, Adivasis and minorities, price rise, and the destruction of the public sector. Never have we let issues of public importance and concern go unaddressed."

Regarding the farmers protests, the Congress interim President said: "The shocking incidents at Lakhimpur Kheri betrays the mindset of the BJP, how it perceives the Kisan Andolan, how it has been dealing with this determined struggle by Kisans to protect their lives and livelihoods.

She said that the economy continues to be a cause of great concern in spite of the government propaganda and the only answer the Centre seems to have for the country's economic recovery is selling off national assets built with great effort over the decades.

"The public sector has had not just strategic and economic objectives, it has had social goals as well, as, for instance, empowerment of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and development of backward areas. But all this is in jeopardy with the Modi government's single-point agenda of 'Becho, Becho, Becho'."

She said that prices of essential commodities, including food and fuel continue to rise unabated. "Could anyone in the country ever imagine that petrol prices would be over 100 Rs rupees a litre, diesel would be nearing the Rs 100 a litre mark, a gas cylinder would cost Rs 900 and cooking oil would be Rs 200 a litre. This is making life unbearable for people across the country."

Sonia Gandhi also condemned the killings in Jammu and Kashmir and said minorities clearly have been targeted. "This must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. We have done so and I do so again this morning. Jammu and Kashmir has been a Union Territory for two years. The entire responsibility for bringing the perpetrators of these barbaric crimes to justice is that of the Union government. Restoring social peace and harmony and confidence amongst the people in Jammu and Kashmir rests with the Modi government too.

"There has always been a broad consensus on foreign and neighbourhood policy in our country. But that consensus has been damaged because of the Prime Minister continued reluctance to take the Opposition into confidence in any meaningful manner. Foreign policy has become a diabolical instrument of electoral mobilisation and polarisation. We face serious challenges on our borders and on other fronts. The Prime Minister telling the opposition leaders last year that there had not been any occupation of our territory by China and his silence ever since is costing our nation dearly," she added.

The Congress faces many challenges but, "if we are united, if we are disciplined and if we focus on the party's interests alone, I am confident that we will do well". Elections for Congress president are likely to be held in September 2022, according to sources. Simlarly, a schedule for organisational elections has also been proposed in today's CWC meet.

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