The confusion over Sonia Gandhi’s tenure as the president of the Congress party that ends on Monday continued, with calls for a more permanent arrangement from some quarters and with a section of party insisting that there is no fixed tenure for an interim president.
Also read: Analysis | Will Congress continue to have Sonia at the helm even after August 10?
At an online press conference, Rajya Sabha MP and party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said Ms. Gandhi will continue to be president till a procedure is implemented to bring in her successor.
Mr. Singhvi said, “Just like nature, political parties too can’t function in a vacuum. It is true that her tenure expires tomorrow, there is a laid down procedure for elections. In the meanwhile, if anyone is suggesting that the Congress will become headless at the stroke of midnight on August 10, is that a fair interpretation?”
Tharoor calls for elections
Senior leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor said the party must have elections to the CWC and for the post of the president which would certainly have a number of beneficial outcomes.
Also read: Congress Working Committee may have to give extension to Sonia Gandhi
“I certainly believe we should be clear about our leadership going forward. I welcomed Soniaji’s appointment as interim president last year but I do believe it’s unfair to her to expect her to carry this burden indefinitely,” he said.
A senior party functionary told The Hindu that the tenure is not tied down by any deadline. The party constitution, he said, clearly says if the elected president steps down, the senior-most general secretary or anyone that the Congress Working Committee selects can take over for an interim period. “The party constitution does not lay down any limit on the tenure of the interim president. It could be six or nine months or more than a year,” he said.
Also read: Cong must find full-term president to arrest perception of being ‘rudderless’, says Shashi Tharoor
The senior leader also clarified that the party does not have to inform the Election Commission, because it’s an internal matter. “We were ready to call for a session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) by May. Then came the pandemic. An AICC session will see participation of at least 5,000 people.”
Rahul not in the race: sources
Sources close to Rahul Gandhi indicate that he is not planning to resume the president’s post as the conditions which forced him to resign still persist. In his resignation letter on July 3 last year, Mr. Gandhi had called for accountability for the defeat of the party in 2019 polls and said “at times I stood alone” referring to the Lok Sabha campaign. The CWC had in a unanimous decision chosen Ms. Gandhi to be the interim president.
However, in the last few months, he has attended key meetings of the party including chairing strategy meeting on upcoming Bihar assembly polls.
