A day after a fiery, seven-hour long Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting was held on the question of party leadership, Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday, 25 August, tweeted saying, "It's not about a post. It's about my country which matters most."
Sibal was one among the various party functionaries who had signed the letter calling for a change in the leadership.
While in the end, on Monday, the CWC unanimously requested Sonia to continue as interim chief till the time an AICC (All India Congress Committee) session can be convened, that was not before controversy erupted over one of Sibal's tweets earlier in the day.
‘Collusion’ Row
The row erupted over remarks being attributed to Rahul Gandhi alleging that the signatories of the letter "colluded" with the BJP.
In response, Sibal had tweeted, "Rahul Gandhi says 'we are colluding with BJP'... Succeeded in Rajasthan High Court defending the Congress Party... Defending party in Manipur to bring down BJP Govt... Last 30 years have never made a statement in favour of BJP on any issue... Yet 'we are colluding with the BJP'!"
However, Sibal later deleted his tweet and put out a clarification saying, "Was informed by Rahul Gandhi personally that he never said what was attributed to him. I therefore withdraw my tweet."
The Congress, too, had denied that Rahul made any such remarks. However, Rahul did slam the 'dissent' letter, saying that the note "seeking sweeping changes" was written at a time when party was fighting the BJP in MP and Rajasthan.
‘Dissent’ Letter
The rumblings in the Congress started when 23 Congress leaders, including former Union ministers and chief ministers, wrote to Sonia, raising critical questions about the party and demanding sweeping changes.
Signatories of the letter to Sonia had said that they have full faith in her leadership, and that of Rahul’s, and that their concerns were for the betterment of the organisation, news agency ANI had reported.
At the end of the CWC meet on Monday, Sonia struck a tone of reconciliation, reportedly saying, "We are a large family, we have differences on many occasions, but in the end, we come together as one. The need of the hour is to fight for the cause of the people and (against) forces that are failing this country."
"Organisational issues are always addressed and process of constitution and reconstitution is a continuous one," she further said, adding that she doesn't hold any ill-will against any colleague as she treats them as part of the family.
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