Gandhi loyalists target Congress stalwarts, Mamata too

PDP-leader-turned CWC invitee Tariq Hameed Karra is learnt to have did an almost a ‘DK Barua act’ by saying that only the Gandhi family could keep India united and, therefore, without Rahul Gandhi returning to the party’s leadership role, “the idea of India can’t be saved”. While praising Nehru, he targeted Sardar Patel by saying that the people of J&K are in India “only because of Nehru” and that Patel was “in league” with Jinnah to hand over J&K to Pakistan. Immediately, a few CWC members intervened to tell Karra to stick to the agenda, reminding him that Patel was a former Congress president with revered contributions to India’s unification.

Lauding the services of the Gandhis in strengthening the party and warning against any criticism of their leadership, Chinta Mohan said ex-PM and Congress chief PV Narasimha Rao was dishonest to the Congress ideology and had worked to destroy the party. He also claimed to have proof of how Rahul had actually won from Amethi in 2019 but was yet defeated as part of a “conspiracy”. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee was hijacking many Congress leaders with an aim to create a ‘Congress (M)’ against the ‘Congress (I)’. He said Trinamool was contesting the Goa polls “to help” the BJP.

Randeep Surjewala is learnt to have talked about “an elephant in the room”. By not naming any change seeker, he lamented how some people, who had been made general secretaries and ministers, were holding meetings in a house and briefing media and still showing loyalty to Sonia Gandhi in the CWC.

CWC SEQUENCE

The meeting witnessed a strange sequence. First, CWC members applauded Sonia for saying she “is a full-time, hands-on, Congress president”. Then they “unanimously” cleared the organisational poll schedule, with the election of the next party president fixed for September 2022, and then appealed to Sonia to carry on as chief. Yet, most of them soon made a chorus for Rahul’s immediate take over as the Congress chief, even without an organisational poll.

Cheerleaders for whom – Sonia Gandhi Or Rahul Gandhi?

This raises a question. When were CWC members real — when they were cheering Sonia Gandhi as “full-time, hands-on, Congress president”, or clearing organisational poll schedule, or when they were demanding Rahul Gandhi’s instant take-over without organisational polls? “Loyalty can be blinding,” justified a CWC loyalist.