BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Tuesday favoured working out an honourable formula to deal with the political crisis in Rajasthan and appeared to back a rapprochement with Sachin Pilot, who has raised a banner of revolt against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
As a party man and as someone who knew the son of his very dear friend late Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, since his childhood, the former union minister said he is very sad at the turn of events in the state.
Efforts should be made to bring into the party fold anyone from any state who is willing to come, Khurshid said when asked if the party should reach out to Pilot.
But he also added: I think the Congress must not dissipate, must not scatter.
There is a limit to which any leadership can accommodate diversity, ambition etc but its a two-way thing, right? If people consider themselvesI think we should try to keep the party together.
Anyone who feels an urge to leave, if we can persuade them not to; that may be a sensible thing but then there are no formulas for this; its only on a case-to-case basis, that you can do something," the senior leader told PTI in an interview.
"I dont know the immediate circumstances of this (crisis in Rajasthan), if something can work with honour, why would anyone be against it," Khurshid said.
Pilot, who was last week sacked as Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress President, along with 18 other dissident MLAs have been slapped with show-cause notices by the Assembly Speaker on petitions by the ruling Congress seeking their disqualification.
The matter has now gone to court.
Kurshid also said holding elections to the Congress Working Committee was not as important as contributing to perpetuate the party's ideology.
Of course there should be elections but for me thats not as important as each one of us contributing to perpetuate the ideology of the party, he said when asked to comment on suggestions in some quarters that there should be elections to the CWC, the partys highest decision-making body.
Thats a functionality etc, have its own time and place, it will happen, he said.
The ideology of the Congress was under severe attack by the party in power (at the Centre), he said without naming the BJP, adding focus should be more on keeping it secure and also to preserve and protect "our leaders who are also under severe attack by the party in power."
For me, thats the priority. Other things are of marginal importance, he said.
Khurshid wondered why questions dont arise on elections to leadership positions in other parties, saying he was "not quite sure" if the BJP has an elected leadership.
Both Amit Shah and his successor J P Nada were appointed as the party president and not elected, he claimed.
When was Mr. Nadda elected? He was appointed. When was Mr. Amit Shah elected? He was appointed.
I dont know why questions dont arise for other parties and only arise for us? But I am not against elections (for CWC) but I am saying today there is a more important thing that we must keep our ideology secure, Khurshid added.