New Delhi: In what is being as interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi's snub to the 23 dissenters, major changes were made in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha committees, but the signatories of the letter were left out.
Earlier on Thursday, Sonia Gandhi appointed Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi as the deputy leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, and MO Ravneet Singh Bittu as the party's whip. Pertinently, senior MPs Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor, who were signatories of the letter, were ignored.
Meanwhile in the Rajya Sabha, Jairam Ramesh was appointed as the Chief whip and also the convenor of the five-member committee of Congress, which was constituted to formulate the party's stand on key ordinances of the Central Government. Former Union Minister Kapil Sibal found no place in the strategy committee.
Taking a jibe at the party, sacked Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha tweeted, "Two of the best voices in Indian Parliament are from Congress: Dr Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari. They represent Kerala (15 LS seats) and Punjab (8 LS seats). They represent 44% of the INC in LS. West Bengal has 1, Assam 2. Fair representation? Just saying!"
Jha, in his tweet, was pointing at Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Gaurav Gogoi, who has been appointed as his deputy.
One of the Congress functionaries said that close aides of Rahul Gandhi have been rewarded with important posts, while the dissenters have been sidelined through this decision.
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"This is completely CPP chairperson's decision and she can chose any of the Congress MPs for these posts," K Suresh, Congress' Chief Whip in Lok Sabha, told ETV Bharat.
The signatories of the 'dissent letter' had also faced criticism during the Congress Working Committee meeting held on Monday, for demanding complete overhaul of the party's organizational structure. However, soon after the meeting, Sonia Gandhi had assured the 'dissenters' that their concerns will be addressed in the party forum.
While on one side, the Congress interim President had clarified that she has "no ill-will" against the dissenters, many of the 23 leaders faced backlash from their own states. While the District Congress Committee of Lakhimpur Kheri passed a resolution seeking expulsion of Jitin Prasada, Maharashtra state leader Sunil Kedar had issued an open threat to three Congress leaders, Prithviraj Chavan, Mukul Wasnik and Milind Deora, saying that either they apologize to the Gandhis or else they will not be allowed to roam freely within the state.
Responding to the matter, Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter and wrote, "I've been silent for 4 days on recent events in the Congress because once the Congress President says the issue is behind us, it is the duty of all of us to work together constructively in the interests of the party. I urge all my colleagues to uphold this principle and end the debate."
However, the Congress dissenters have made it very clear that they are still firm on their demands and there is an urgent need of conducting elections within the party.
Ghulam Nabi Azad also asserted that Congress will "sit in opposition for next 59 years" if it won't conduct elections for CWC and make organizational reforms to strengthen the party. Azad has also been ignored from the Congress committee for Rajya Sabha, while KC Venugopal has been made a part of it, who is considered as one of the closest aides of Rahul Gandhi.
