Who is taking decisions in Congress, asks Sibal

New Delhi, September 29, 2021

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday wondered who in the party is taking decisions in the absence of an elected president.

He said that the demand by a group of 23 leaders (G-23) for organisational elections has not been met even a year after a letter was written by them in this regard.

Addressing a press conference here, Sibal said, "There is no president in our party, so we do not know who is taking all the decisions. We know it, yet we don't know, one of my senior colleagues perhaps has written or is about to write to the interim president to immediately convene a CWC meeting so that a dialogue can be initiated."

He appealed to those leaders who quit Congress to come back to the fold and said, "its ironic to say that we are going to leave the party. Those who were considered close to the top leadership have left the party and those who were not considered close are still standing with the party. We are G-23 and not Ji-huzoor 23."

Referring to the crisis in the Punjab unit of the party, Sibal said that the border state where this is happening is an advantage to the ISI and Pakistan as everybody knows the history of Punjab and the rise of extremism in the state. Congress should ensure that they remain united to safeguard the interests of the state, he added.

Sibal said that he is speaking on behalf of those Congress members who wrote the letter in August 2020 and are waiting for the action to be taken by the leadership in respect of the election to the office of the president, to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the central election committee.

In August last year, the group of 23 leaders wrote to Sonia Gandhi demanding elections in the party and for visible and effective leadership. The Congress has said that party will move forward but it has not conducted elections.

IANS