The Congress on Thursday, by issuing a show-cause notice to former Lok Sabha MP from Jharkhand Furqan Ansari for his outburst against former party chief Rahul Gandhi, sent a signal that it is ready to act against leaders who publicly target the party’s leadership.
Following the Bihar Assembly debacle, where the party contested 70 seats but managed to win only 19, Mr. Ansari said Mr. Gandhi needed “political advisors” instead of the MBA graduates in his office.
Stating that he has written to party chief Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Gandhi on the need to revamp the organisation, Mr. Ansari said people who attended Mr. Gandhi’s election rally at Bihar’s Kahalgaon didn’t understand what he said.
The former MP from Godda also attacked All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Jharkhand RPN Singh claiming that he didn’t deserve even to be a block president.
Acting against such an outburst, the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee has asked Mr. Ansari, whose son is an MLA, to explain his remarks that have violated party discipline.
The party’s move is aimed at sending a clear message to all the leaders not to speak out of turn on the recent polls as well as the leadership. Soon after the Bihar polls, the Congress again witnessed rumblings, with senior leader Kapil Sibal questioning the silence of the top leadership over the poor show.
Mr. Sibal, among the group of 23 leaders (G-23) who had questioned the Gandhis in a letter, earlier this week said the Bihar elections and the bypolls in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Manipur showed that voters didn’t see Congress as a viable alternative.
The comment triggered a war of words with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot saying Mr. Sibal should not have spoken about party matters in the media while Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury suggested that “those who are not comfortable can leave the party or start their own”.
Senior leader Salman Khurshid joined the debate by suggesting that the Congress should be prepared for a long battle while former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram expressed concern over weak organisation.
Party Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil is reported to have sent in his resignation to the party high command, owning up responsibility for the poor show.
