Ready for Challenge: Rahul After CWC Backs Him for Congress Chief

AK Antony said it’s the right time for Rahul to become president of Congress, which all other CWC members agreed to.

Rahul Gandhi presided over the Congress Working Committee meeting. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@INCIndia)

Hinting at an imminent leadership change in the Congress, party leader Randeep Surjewala said on Monday that Rahul Gandhi told party leaders that “he was ready to accept whatever responsibility is bestowed upon him by the Congress president and the Congress Working Committee (CWC)”.

The Congress Vice President made this statement as he chaired a meeting of the CWC in absence of party president Sonia Gandhi.

Congress leaders Surjewala and AK Antony revealed that CWC members at the meeting unanimously supported Rahul Gandhi's elevation to the post of Congress president.

A number of party members expressed strong sentiments that Rahul Gandhi must take over as president of the party.

AK Antony

Also Read: Sonia Hospitalised in Delhi, Cuts Her Varanasi Trip Short

It hasn’t been confirmed if the transfer of power will be taking place before the organisational elections in the Congress party, which are overdue. The party had sought time from the Election Commission to complete the process by 31 December. It had informed the poll panel about it as required under the rules.

Antony added, “This is the right time for Rahul Gandhi to take charge as president of the Congress party.”

In a press conference, Antony told mediapersons:

We are not assuring Rahul’s appointment, we are only recommending it and hoping that our recommendation will get the right attention. Sonia Gandhi cannot elect the president, only the working committee can, and for the first time the working committee unanimously agreed on this decision.

Besides the organisational polls and the strategy to be adopted for Parliament session, the meeting also took stock of the current political situation and discuss its plans for assembly elections in some states including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab due next year.

The CWC meeting comes at a time when a section of party members feels that Congress President Sonia Gandhi, 69, should hand over the mantle to her son as she is suffering from ill-health, especially after her roadshow in PM Narendra Modi's constituency of Varanasi on 2 August when she was hospitalised.

Rahul Gandhi with Manmohan Singh and other senior Congress leaders at the meet. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/OfficeofRG)

Rahul who chaired the Working Committee meeting commented on several key points at the meet. Here are some of the highlights.

On the Modi Government

Democracy under the present dispensation is going through one of the darkest hours... Modi government is obsessed with power, it seeks to silence all those who disagree... Asking questions is what discomforts this government the most, for they have no answers... Television channels are being punished and asked to shut down. Opposition is being arrested for holding the government to account.

On OROP and the Recent Military Operations

In recent months, our jawans have suffered the highest casualties in decades. They are being cruelly ‘rewarded’ by a callous government with denial of OROP and cut in disability pensions.

On the Upcoming Elections

With state elections due in the coming months we can safely expect the Modi government to launch a campaign of disinformation and polarisation. They will exploit caste and religious fault lines. We must anticipate and neutralise such devious strategies.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had reported unwell ahead of the meet that she was scheduled to chair, party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

Congress sources said Sonia Gandhi complained of a bad throat.

This is the first time that Rahul has presided over the meeting which is being attended by Congress top brass.

Senior party leaders Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Janardan Dwivedi, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni and AK Antony are among those attending the meet and will decide on the possible deferring of organisational election to next year.

The meeting assumes significance as it comes ahead of winter session of Parliament starting 16 November where the Congress is seeking to corner the government on several issues including freedom of speech and expression in the wake of the one-day ban on a Hindi news channel over its coverage of Pathankot terror attack.

The controversies over surgical strike, killing of eight Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists in an alleged encounter in Madhya Pradesh, triple talaq and uniform civil code are also likely to be raised by the Congress.

(With Inputs from IANS, PTI, ANI and Business Standard)