New Delhi: Veteran Congress leader Kapil Sibal's comment regarding the Grand Old Party (GOP) that "people have stopped seeing Congress as an effective alternative" has stirred hornet's nest with suspended Congress leader Sanjay Jha, political analyst Shehzad Poonawalla stepping in to support Sibal who once again finds himself cornered against his own party.
In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat, former Congress spokesperson and politician Sanjay Jha said the statement made by Sibal is true and it is time that the GOP starts accepting the reality.
"The Congress party is losing elections repeatedly. Even our alliances have started targeting the party and say that we now don't fight the elections with courage," rued Jha.
Answering whether concerns are being raised about the party's leadership from all corners, Jha said the problem is serious because Congress is not raising pertinent questions among its leaders like — who will be next Congress president, how can in-party elections be conducted in a more transparent manner, how to applaud Congress workers, and what strategies should be made to win the elections.
Saying that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now a strong party, Jha emphasised that it is not only difficult but impossible for Congress to defeat the BJP.
"If Congress doesn't bring some internal changes inside the party, we will continue to lose. So, now the time has come for the Congress party to change itself," Jha said.
Besides Jha, political analyst Shehzad Poonawalla also underlined the need for immediate introspection within the party. He said Kapil Sibal's comment over party leadership is not surprising and opined that there will be no change in the Congress party even after all this.
Also read: Compelled to speak out: Sibal again questions Cong leadership
"The Congress is a status-quo party, they will only cater to the parivarik (family) interest of one family. They do not care about the party or about the country and they cannot have internal democracy within their own party, leave alone democracy about the country," said Shehzad Poonawalla.
Terming Congress 'a national non-performing asset', he added, "Kapil Sibal's shots will misfire and they will not have the desired effect. Congress will continue to be a liability, not just for their own party people but for their allies and for the country as a whole."
Poonawalla said similar criticism is now coming from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and from other alliances of the Congress party too. In fact, former US President Barack Obama has also realised that the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi have no attitude or passion for continuing in politics.
"But, unfortunately, the "darbaris" in the Congress will continue to lose, they will continue to adopt an ostrich-like approach where they will bury their heads in sand and they will never wake up," he added.
Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid sidestepped from commenting on the controversy and said, "I don't have any complaints with anyone. When I don't have any complaints with anyone then why should I say it to anyone. I am happy, where I am."
