Kapil Sibal says Congress at ‘historic low’, needs a full-time leader: Report

Veteran Congress leader Kapil Sibal called for reforms within the Indian National Congress, in an interview with Hindustan Times.

Sibal called for “leadership [that is] 24x7” within the party, which according to him, had reached a “historic low.”

He was among the Congress leaders who wrote to party president Sonia Gandhi, calling for reforms, including a “full-time leader”.

After receiving the letter, Gandhi offered to resign. The offer was rejected by members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

After CWC, Sonia Gandhi reaches out to friendly parties over GST compensation

“If people have access to the letter, they will know it is not an attempt to belittle anyone, including the Gandhi family. In fact, we have appreciated the services rendered by the leadership thus far,” added Sibal.

“Our intent is to revive the party. We want to be partners in its revival. That is our commitment to the party constitution and the Congress legacy, and the absolute conviction that the Congress needs others to rally around, to oppose a government which has destroyed the very foundations on which the Indian Republic is built,” he added.

He went onto to say that the party was at a historic low and “the election results of 2014 and 2019 reflect that.”

Several senior Congress leaders were signatories to the letter including Kapil Sibal himself, Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tiwari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Prithviraj Chavan.

Some of 23 Congress leaders who wrote to Sonia Gandhi meet after CWC

Sibal also expressed grief at those who signed the letter being labelled as ‘traitors’.

“I wish the substance had been circulated, then all those present (at the CWC meeting) would’ve realised that it (the letter) is about strengthening and reviving the Congress. One of those present even used the expression ‘traitor’. I wish those present had reprimanded him. There was not one uncivilised comment made in the communication. I am appalled that expressions like these are allowed within the highest forum,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi was earlier claimed to have questioned the timing of the letter and to have suggested that it was written in cahoots with the BJP. The claim was later rubbished by party members.

Sibal reiterated that he had no fear and that he was, through and through, a Congressman. “We have no fears. We are Congressmen at heart and we will remain Congressmen without fear,” he said.

“I and the BJP are North Pole and South Pole. We are wedded to the Congress ideology and bitterly oppose the current dispensation (at the Centre),” Sibal wrote on Twitter, at the insinuation that his motives were affected by the BJP.

Sibal re-established that his loyalties lay with the INC, saying, “We are soldiers of the party and some of us are seasoned enough to know what needs to be done. We hope that we will be heard.”