The venue for Wednesday’s dinner meeting was supposed to be Kapil Sibal’s official residence, but was later shifted to Ghulam Nabi Azad’s place. Sources say that this was an indication that while the so-called Group of 23 rebels, or G23Were united and wanted to put pressure on the Congress, it did not support the demand that the party should proceed without the Gandhi family.
At the dinner, the attendees discussed their future plans. The group grew in numbers with many new faces like Mani Shankar Iyer, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Preneet Kaur. It was decided to form a pressure group and efforts would be made to reach out to more disgruntled Congress leaders. A source in the meeting said, “We are confident that more people will join us as we do not want the Congress to die. Now there are very few loyalists left and they do not have much to offer.”
So what will the pressure group do? It will give suggestions to the top leadership of Congress i.e. Gandhi family and will pressurize for change in the organisation. “The same people can’t call the shots anymore,” said the source.
But there was dismay and panic when news broke of the party forming five committees to probe the loss of the recently held assembly elections and suggest changes. The anger was especially about one name Ajay Maken.
earlier in the day, Sonia Gandhi Met MPs from Punjab and almost everyone said that state in-charge Harish Chaudhary and Ajay Maken have spoiled the game, Congress also sold tickets. Hence there was an outcry that one of the committee members who would work on the report card for the lost area would remain the Maken. A source said, “We mentioned him and yet he made Maken the head of the committee. Shows they don’t care.”
The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party, which dethroned the Congress in Punjab, was also cited as a cause for concern at the dinner.
The G23 issued a brief statement saying that top Congress leaders should consult like-minded leaders and have an inclusive and collective leadership. The dinner members said that they would have to be taken on board and this could not be ignored. The invitees also asked why the general secretary in-charge did not submit his resignation. And why was it that some people were allowed to go away? It was also asked that why is a new circle of people who are unsuccessful in politics coming?
The dissidents plan to meet again soon to formalize the pressure group, as a last-ditch effort to assert themselves and save Congress.
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