Sonia Gandhi offers to quit as Congress president

CNI Desk: Congress Working President Sonia Gandhi has responded to a letter by party colleagues saying she would step down from the party's interim chief's post and that the party should choose a new president.

Sonia, who had taken over as interim chief on August 10 last year after Rahul Gandhi resigned taking responsibility for the party's debacle in the Lok Sabha election, sent a formal reply in which she has asked the party leaders to get together and start the process finding a new President as she does not want to carry out the responsibilities any further.

Source said the development has come a day before the Congress Working Committee crucial meeting, scheduled to take place tomorrow (Monday).

 

While two dozen Congress leaders, including some former ministers have written to party president Sonia Gandhi for overhaul of the organizational structure and changes to the leadership, some leaders close to Rahul have also written to the CWC pressing for the Gandhi scion’s return as chief.

The letter also called for a range of reforms, including picking of leaders at every level through election -- is also expected to be discussed at a key internal meeting Monday. It further called for a "full-time", "effective leadership" that will be "visible" and "active" in the field.

The signatories, however, made it clear there is no criticism of Rahul Gandhi. "We have not criticised Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi, but we want a complete overhaul of the Congress party in its management and style," one of them told.

The letter praised Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and said they will remain an integral part of the "collective leadership".  The letter also called for an "honest introspection", suggested a "collective leadership", and stressed that the "youth are losing confidence" in the party.

These leaders have called for bringing changes in the organization by effecting reforms through decentralisation of power and empowerment of state units besides setting up of the central Parliamentary Board, a body that existed in the party in the 1970s but was later wound up.