National News

Big fight emerges at Congress Working Committee meeting, RaGa gets angry on Chidambaram

January 24, 2021
The Commune

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) comprising of senior leaders of the party held a meeting in New Delhi day before yesterday. During the meeting, a heated argument had reportedly broken out between former Union Minister P. Chidambaram and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot leaving Rahul Gandhi fuming who was later pacified by his mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Earlier in August last year, 23 senior leaders that includes Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Union Ministers Kapil Sibal, Manish Tiwari and Shashi Tharoor had written to Sonia Gandhi asking for ‘fulltime effective leadership’ who is ‘active’ and ‘visible’ in the field. They had also asked for appointment of a permanent leader for the Congress party and the holding of elections to the Congress Working Committee. This had led to infighting among senior leaders and created a controversy.

This matter had erupted at the meeting held day before yesterday. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, while speaking, slammed the leaders who wrote the letter saying that, the executive committee meeting had taken place without any issue  for the past 10 years and added that one group is trying to ‘show themselves as big men’ asking for elections suddenly. He had said that leaders should refrain from criticizing the leadership. “Some leaders, without growing from the grassroots, want to get directly to the big post.”, he had apparently blurted out in the meeting. 

Some of Sonia’s supporters, including Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni, came in support of Gehlot. However, some senior leaders, including Anand Sharma, launched a scathing attack on the Rajasthan Chief Minister. In fact, Anand Sharma and Gehlot were involved in a direct confrontation with the two exchanging barbs and scolding each other with inappropriate words.

This had caused a stir in the meeting. Following this, many, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mukul Wasnik and Anand Sharma, insisted that CWC members should be elected through elections’ which was opposed strongly by Ambika Soni, Ashok Gehlot and A.K. Anthony. This had led to the former Union Minister P. Chidambaram directly launching an attack on Gehlot.

In response, Gehlot said “If not for the party, what value and respect do you have on the outside?”, coming down heavy on Chidambaram leading to further exchange in barbs.

Later Anand Sharma had reportedly told that those demanding elections to the working committee have been in the party since the time of Indira Gandhi. “They are all leaders of the Congress and not any other party. It is not okay to abuse fellow leaders and call them in singular” he had reportedly said.

Following this, Rahul Gandhi had intervened and asked the leaders to not use harsh words. “It has been decided to hold elections within the party. Let’s move towards it.”

However, senior journalist Rajagopalan notes that during this big fight, Rahul Gandhi was seething with anger at Chidambaram and was supposedly pacified by his mother and sister. He said in his tweet that the reason nothing untoward happened during the meeting was because it was a virtual meeting.