23 senior leaders of the Congress, including five former chief ministers, MPs and several former Union ministers, have sent a letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi calling for sweeping reforms in the party, The Indian Express reported. The move comes amid the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party, convening at 11am on Monday.
According to the report, the letter, signed by leaders like Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Kapil Sibal and Veerappa Moily, points out "erosion of the support base and losing the confidence of the youth" as causes of concern.
The CWC will address these issues tomorrow. "A meeting of the Congress Working Committee will be held on Monday, the 24th August, 2020 at 11.00am via video conferencing," Congress leader K.C. Venugopal said in a tweet. All permanent and special invitees to the CWC have been invited to the meeting, where the leadership issue is also likely to be discussed, besides the current political situation in the country.
There has been a clamour within a section of Congressmen for Rahul Gandhi to take over as the president of the grand old party again. The CWC meet comes close on the heels of Congress president Sonia Gandhi completing a year as the interim party chief, a post she accepted last year after her son Rahul Gandhi stepped down.
A debate is again raging in the Congress over the uncertainty related to its leadership. In an official media briefing two days ago, the Congress said its workers across the country want Rahul Gandhi to take charge of the party.