CWC asks Rahul to lead party, but Sonia to take call

Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony (left, above), party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee in New Delhi. (Photo: Asian Age)

Led by former defence minister A.K. Antony, senior Congress leaders voiced the strong sentiment at Monday’s CWC meeting that Rahul Gandhi should take over as party chief. This is the first time the CWC unanimously recommended that Rahul take over. Mr Antony said that the “CWC was of the view that Rahul Gandhi must take over the presidency of the Congress”. However, the final decision will be that of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was not present at Monday’s meeting.

AICC communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala, who was also present at the meeting, said: “The Congress vice-president was present at the CWC meeting. He said that whatever the Congress Party and the CWC will decide... he will be ready to take up any challenge.”

The Congress Working Committee met Monday morning to discuss the current political situation, and also decided to seek a year’s extension for its organisational elections to be completed. Rahul Gandhi stood in for his mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who could not attend as she was indisposed. Technically, the CWC can appoint a new party president whenever it deems fit.

At the meeting, Mr Gandhi made a scathing attack on the BJP-led Central government, and said the country was going through “one of (its) most darkest hours”, and that the ruling dispensation was “obsessed with power and seeking to silence” all those who disagreed with it. He charged that “hiding behind the cloak of national security, civil society is being intimidated for asking questions”. The CWC also condemned the ban on a TV news channel that was imposed by the inter-ministerial group.

The BJP hit back at Mr Gandhi over his strident attack, with I&B minister M. Venkaiah Naidu saying his talk of democracy and fundamental rights was like the “devil quoting scripture”. Mr Naidu said: “Every word said by (Rahul) him suits them and reminds the nation of what they have done. He may not be knowing...” Reminding people of the Emergency imposed by the then Congress government in 1975, he added: “The Congress talking of democracy and fundamental rights is like the devil quoting scripture.” He said Rahul’s outburst at the CWC meeting was due to the party’s frustration that even after being willing to strike “unnatural and unholy alliances”, it saw no prospect of doing well in the polls in UP or elsewhere.

The CWC condemned the terrorist attack on the brigade headquarters at Uri, and strongly supported the cross-border retaliatory action and the valour displayed by the Indian Army. However, it took strong exception to the BJP trying to politicise the surgical strikes, and regretted the misleading statement by the defence minister that this was the first time in 30 years that such strikes had taken place.

The CWC also discussed the prevailing political situation, with members saying the BJP would try to polarise and divide the polity in the coming Assembly poll campaign. The Congress said it would highlight the government’s anti-poor policies and how it was ignoring poor farmers and ex-servicemen.