Congress leaders are speaking out against the party leadership, even as Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi maintains that they only suffered “a little down” in Uttar Pradesh. Former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar told The Indian Express that the Congress now faces the threat of losing its relevance as a national party. “When you confuse sycophancy for loyalty, you don’t create leaders. When intellect is at a discount, you can’t make a great party,” he said.
Former Tribal Affairs Minister Kishore Chandra Deo said Gandhi needs to cut out “a dozen people” around him “to survive”. “Otherwise he will also have to face the same music. It is very clear,” he added, referring to the embarrassing defeat the Congress suffered in both Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Kumar further said that the party must accept the mistakes made and be willing to make amends “wherever the responsibility lies”. “The same people keep playing musical chairs and are put in charge from one state to another...All that the Congress needs to do is to put into motion a process which will be able to throw up leadership at various levels,” he told the newspaper.
Former party MP from Mumbai Priya Dutt also expressed her views on Twitter, saying the “Congress destroys Congress”. “Congress has shown repeatedly that it suffers from an auto-immune disease...We need to be treated from within to be healthy again.”
While defending his party on Wednesday, Gandhi pointed out the Congress had won a higher number of seats than the Bharatiya Janata Party in three of the five states that went to the polls. “In two of the states we won, democracy is being undermined by them using financial power and money,” he said. The BJP has formed government in Manipur and Goa by allying with regional parties.
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