Sibal questions dynasty; INC slams ‘RSS language’

The infighting in the INC continued after the CWC meet, with the party’s Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore today hitting out at senior leader Kapil Sibal for his remarks against the leadership and accusing him of speaking the language of the RSS-BJP.

Sibal had hit out at the party’s high command again, claiming it was “living in cuckoo land”.

“What happened in the CWC yesterday also did not surprise me. For a party after eight years, since 2014, to say that we will have a chintan shivir to find out the reasons for this debacle… if for eight years a political party and the leadership is not aware of the reasons for its decline; is awaiting for a Chintan Shivir to find out, is living in cuckoo land: Keeping its eyes shut to the reality that confronts us. The Congress represents a thought process. The word Congress comes from togetherness,” Sibal remarked.

Tagore, a staunch Rahul Gandhi loyalist, said the RSS and the BJP want the Gandhis to be out of leadership position in the party in order to kill the INC party and destroy the Idea of India.

“Why do the RSS and BJP want the Gandhis out of the leadership? Because without Gandhi’s leadership INC will become the Janata party. It’s easy to kill the Congress then it’s easy to destroy the idea of India (sic),” Tagore said on Twitter. “Kapil Sibal knows it but why he is speaking the language of RSS/BJP,” he asked.

Sibal has said that Gandhis should step aside and give some other leader a chance to lead the party. “Leadership is in cuckoo land I want a ‘Sab ki Congress’. Some want a ‘Ghar ki Congress’,” Sibal told The Indian Express in an interview.

The remarks came after the CWC met on Sunday, and after almost five hours of deliberations urged Sonia Gandhi to continue to lead and initiate changes required to strengthen the party.

The CWC also rejected Gandhi’s offer to make any and every sacrifice for the party, which was construed by some as an offer of the Nehru-Gandhi family to step aside and repose faith in her leadership.

The INC put out a video of all its former leaders from Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, on its Twitter handle. “We will fight on. We will overcome. We will continue to raise your voice,” the party said.