Exclusive: Drama ends in choosing Congress Working President
After Rahul Gandhi resigned as the working president of the Indian National Congress after the humiliating loss in the Lok Sabha elections, the time has come to appoint the new working president. There have been many speculations about the new president and for sometime family, the drama has happened between Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka.
Firstly, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said that she was urged by former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit to take the responsibility of Presidentship of the Congress party. Gandhi was addressing a prayer meeting to honour Dikshit's memory. "She stood by my side in my darkest years...and...guided me as an elder sister [when I became Congress President]," Sonia further said.
Later, Congress workers reportedly protested outside the Congress headquarters on Saturday and demanded that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra be made the new party chief. Congress Working Committee met on Saturday to decide on a new party chief after Rahul Gandhi formally sent his resignation letter on July 3.
Seeing all this, it is quite clear that there as has been some grouping in the party and everyone took their sides without any hesitation. Even though those chants have been neglected by Sonia and Rahul, the question is who propelled the workers to protest outside the head quarters.
Making the scene more interesting, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said that the committee unanimously requested Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation and continue as party President after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. If, Rahul left the president post on his own, why would he let this information out? But Venu Gopal continued to say that Rahul declined to withdraw his resignation.
Finally, following the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday said that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is the interim party President. Rahul Gandhi reportedly refused to accept the role despite CWC asking him to continue. Earlier, Sonia and Rahul had recused from the consultations saying that they "naturally" couldn't be a part of the process.
Later Ex-Congress President Rahul Gandhi went on saying that the Congress Working Committee stopped its deliberation on choosing the next party President due to the "prevailing situation" in J&K. "Things in Jammu and Kashmir are going very wrong," he said. "It is important that Prime Minister makes it clear what is happening in Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh," he added.
Hence they chose an interim working president to bring the situation under control within the party and will wait for the things to calm down in Jammu and Kashmir before electing the permanent working president.
