Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday rued a series of desertions the party has suffered recently, mentioning Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada, Sushmita Dev and Luizinho Faleiro, the latest party leader to jump ship. This comes a day after Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned as the Punjab Congress president, sending shockwaves across the state’s political circles.
At a press conference, Sibal, one of the leaders of G-23, which had asked for an effective leadership in the Congress, said: “We are G-23, definitely not Ji Huzoor-23. We will keep raising issues.” He also said that he was speaking on behalf of like-minded party men, who wrote a letter last year to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and are still awaiting action with regard to elections to the office of party chief. Sibal was referring to the letter the group wrote last August, asking for a complete overhaul in Congress.
“I stand here with a heavy heart. Our people are leaving us. Sushmita, Faleiro… Jitin becomes minister.. Scindia also left long back… Everywhere people are leaving us. In our party, there is no president. We know, yet we don’t know,” Sibal said, adding that he can’t see Congress becoming weaker. He also added: “One of our senior colleagues is to write to immediately call a CWC (meeting).”
On Tuesday Sidhu, who was appointed the Punjab Congress chief in July, tendered his resignation from the post. In his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, Sidhu said he “can never compromise on Punjab’s future and the agenda for the welfare of Punjab”. His resignation comes amid reports of a rift with new chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi over his cabinet, especially the inclusion of ‘tainted’ MLA Rana Gurjit Singh.
Hours before Singh’s induction on Monday, a section of Congress leaders from the state had also written to Sidhu demanding that the tainted former minister not be included. The leaders also demanded that the cabinet berth may instead be filled up by giving representation to a clean Dalit leader.
Sibal, one of the vocal voices of G-23
Sibal is one of the most aggressive faces of the G-23. He had in August hosted a dinner for key opposition leaders like NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, NC leader Omar Abdullah, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’ Brien, among others, in an effort to cobble up an opposition unity for ‘Mission 2024’. This came at a time when Rahul Gandhi was also making efforts to ensure an opposition unity.
At Sibal’s gala dinner, also present were a few other G-23 members like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari. The message through the dinner was two-fold — the long silence of G-23 should not be taken lightly, and secondly, Sibal and other G-23 members also have the clout to attract opposition leaders.
The group in its letter last year had complained that the party had lost touch with the people and is now a sinking ship, relegated to the margins of politics. Sibal, during Wednesday’s press conference, mentioned how the high command hasn’t yet acted on their demands, which include round-the-clock leadership and sweeping changes within the Congress.
Following the dissent by party leaders, Sonia Gandhi did call a meeting and promised to make things better. But nothing concrete was done, according to some G-23 leaders. After the Congress’ dismal performance in several state elections such as Kerala and West Bengal, the G-23 leaders stood vindicated.
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