BENGALURU: Right from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar and former Chief Minister and Legislature Party Chief Siddaramaiah to other Karnataka Congress leaders have firmly put their weight behind AICC interim president Sonia Gandhi and the Gandhi family to head the party at the national level.
Even as former Karnataka chief minister Veerappa Moily is said to be one of the signatories to a letter seeking changes in the party leadership, Shivakumar on Sunday evening wrote a two-page letter to Sonia Gandhi urging her to continue as AICC president.
Terming leaking of the letter seeking a change in leadership to the media as an act of indiscipline, Shivakumar said such acts will set a bad example. He insisted that if Sonia had decided it was time for a change in leadership, then Rahul Gandhi should be persuaded to replace her.
“Anyone can discuss anything within the party forum, but signing such a letter and leaking it to the media is indiscipline,” Shivakumar told The New Indian Express.
‘Unfortunate that Gandhi family being questioned’
“The entire state unit of the Congress stands by Sonia Gandhi and the Gandhi family, who have sacrificed a lot. Both could have become Prime Ministers, but they sacrificed the top post for the party,” D K Shivakumar said, adding that the 23 signatories of the letter have enjoyed the power thanks to the Gandhi family. “There is a collective responsibility for where we are now. Such behaviour should not be allowed,” he said.
Senior Karnata Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) leaders also insisted that not having a Gandhi as an AICC president is untenable, whether it is for consensus and decision-making or for winning votes. Many leaders, including working president Saleem Ahmed, are not just standing by the Gandhi family, but are also want Rahul Gandhi back as All India Congress Committee (AICC) president.
“Rahul Gandhi should return as AICC president immediately and start working with the experience and confidence of seniors and the strength of youngsters,” said Ahmed. MLAs Dinesh Gundu Rao and Rizwan Arshad were two of many KPCC leaders who want Rahul Gandhi to return as president.
Siddaramaiah lashed out at his colleagues and signatories of the letter, saying, “It is unfortunate that the leadership of Gandhi family is being questioned by a few. In these difficult times of undeclared emergency and attack on democracy by BJP, we should collectively strive to strengthen Congress and not weaken it.”