NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leaders and former ministers under United Progressive Alliance (UPA)regime rallied behind the Manmohan Singh-led government after some younger leaders called for introspection of the tenure of UPA-2 to understand party’s electoral downfall, saying the party should be proud of its legacy and should not disown it.
“UPA government was victim of a grand political conspiracy and malicious disinformation campaign of the BJP, political opponents, and powerful vested interests. Six years later, what was alleged in 2014 stands proven false in 2020. Congress as a democratic party is always open to a debate on its achievements and failures. Honest introspection and analysis are always helpful and gives strength to move forward,” said senior party leader Anand Sharma.
Emphasizing that Congressmen must be proud of UPA’s legacy and no party disowns or discredits it’s legacy, he said nobody expects the BJP to be charitable and give us credit but our own should respect and not forget. The divide among young and senior party leaders came to fore during a meeting of Rajya Sabha MPs chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi. Some young MPs, including Rajiv Satav, in-charge for Gujarat, called for introspection if the party is paying for the work during the UPA regime.
Another minister under during the Congress led coalition, Manish Tewari tweeted: “BJP was out of power for 10 years. Not once did they ever blame Vajpayee or his Government for their then predicaments. In Congress, unfortunately some ill-informed would rather take swipes at Dr Manmohan Singh-led UPA govt then fight NDA/BJP. When unity is required, they divide.”
Echoing similar views, a member of Team Rahul and former minister Milind Deora said, “When demitting office in 2014, Dr Manmohan Singh said, ‘history will be kinder to me’. Could he have ever imagined that some from his own party would dismiss his years of service to the nation and seek to destroy his legacy — that, too, in his presence?”