Assuring cadres of reforms to make the party battle-ready in future, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday admitted that the road ahead was more challenging than ever before and the collective resilience of Congress workers was under severe test. She urged “unity at all levels” and, in a signal to critics, reiterated her willingness to do “whatever was necessary to maintain that unity”.
Addressing the first meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party since the electoral setbacks in UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab, Sonia said, “The road ahead is more challenging than ever before. Our dedication and determination, our spirit of resilience is under severe test. Unity at all levels of our vast organisation is of paramount importance and speaking for myself, I am determined to do whatever is needed to ensure it. Our revival is not just a matter of importance to us alone — it is, in fact, essential for our democracy itself and society as well.”Conscious of potential defections, Sonia acknowledged latent and vocal intra party anxieties over repeated poll debacles, saying recent election results have been both “shocking and painful” and declared that she was working on pertinent suggestions from leaders to strengthen the Congress.
“Holding a ‘shivir’ is also very necessary because that is where the views of a larger number of colleagues and party representatives will be heard,” she assured in the presence of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, her son Rahul Gandhi and party’s house leaders.
Dedicating a portion of her remarks to Congress revival, the pressing challenge with party’s Rajya Sabha numbers plummeting to 29 MPs and no MP now in 17 states, Sonia attacked the government for pursuing a divisive agenda and targeting opposition leaders.
“The polarising agenda of the ruling party has now become a regular feature of the political discourse in state after state. History — not just ancient but also contemporary— is mischievously distorted and facts are maliciously invented to add fuel to this agenda. It is for us all to confront these forces of hate and prejudice,” Sonia said, accusing the government of targeting the opposition.
Leave a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *