As the blame game continues in the Congress over its worst-ever poll debacle, the former Union Minister Milind Deora, who questioned the role of Rahul Gandhi’s advisers as well as “those who take the advice,” has come under fire from party leaders.
“Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan. The same people were very comfortable before May 16 [when the Lok Sabha election results were out] with all those whom they are speaking against now. They are young people. They have not seen defeat [before]. So they will learn from the defeat,” party general secretary Digvijaya Singh said here on Saturday, without naming Mr. Deora.
“I would not like to name the persons but some of these people, who are criticising now were on regular e-mail and SMS and direct contact with Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
Mr. Singh met Mr. Gandhi earlier in the morning.
Youth Congress president Rajiv Satav, one of two party candidates who won from Maharashtra, also reminded Mr. Deora of his defeat from Mumbai South, saying he could have at least saved his seat.
“Surprised to see #MilindDeora’s comments. Thought he was 1 of the closest to RG or atleast its wht his friends in the media kept writing,” Satav, a pick of the Congress vice-president, said on Twitter.
In another tweet, he said, “MilindDeora MP for a decade & minister in UPA2, didn’t he hv any responsibility to party? Cud hv protect his seat at least!”
Mr. Deora had said Mr. Gandhi’s advisers did not have an ear to the ground and that those with “no electoral experience were calling the shots.”
Later explaining his remarks, the young leader tweeted, “My comments are out of emotions of deep loyalty to the party, pain of our performance & a sincere desire to see us bounce back. Nothing more.”
At the same time, he said in another tweet, “field party work & electoral battles are key to comprehend ground realities. This should form the basis for leadership posts in Congress.”
Meanwhile, another leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi backed Mr. Deora and expressed hope that an “honest and ruthless introspection” would be carried out to rectify the problems.
