Rahul to be blamed for poll debacle: Vaghela
Senior Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela, unlike his party colleagues, did not shy away from directly blaming Rahul Gandhi for the lok Sabha poll debacle. On Friday, he minced no words in saying the party vice-president did not connect with the masses.
Vaghela, the leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly, lambasted the Gandhi scion for the party’s humiliating defeat in the elections. He also said that one should not blame Rahul’s election team as its members were picked up by him only. The criticism from Vaghela against the Congress leadership comes a couple of days after he showered lavish praise on outgoing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Several Congress leaders have been expressing their views but Vaghela is the first to openly slam the party V-P. Earlier in the day, senior leader Shashi Tharoor too trained his guns on the party saying that communication is a must and party leaders should be allowed to speak freely. “There is a reticence within Congress, even I was not allowed to speak,” he confessed.
Vaghela also dismissed the idea of bringing in Priyanka Gandhi saying that there was no use of forcibly bringing her into active politics. Tharoor also struck a similar note as he said, “She is good, but we are talking as if we are giving her an ‘Oscar’ even when she did not apply for the role.”
Differences continue to surface in the Congress ever since its humiliating defeat. Amritsar MP Amarinder Singh on Friday slammed Congress Punjab unit chief Partap Singh Bajwa after he issued disciplinary action against those MlAs and party leaders who demanded his resignation over the party’s poll debacle.
All India Youth Congress President Rajiv Satav also criticised party leader Milind Deora’s statement that there were some in the party who remained silent when things weren’t going well. “Milind Deora should have spoken earlier,” he said.
Outgoing Food Minister KV Thomas said there should be internal party elections in the Congress right from the booth-level. However, at the AICC briefing on Friday, Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed called Rahul the “fittest” leader for every responsibility. “He (Rahul) is the fittest leader for every responsibility which the party or the country will assign him,” Ahmed said.
As the blame-game continued in the party over its worst poll drubbing, Ahmed rejected contentions that party leaders are questioning the leadership of the Congress vice president.
“There is no attack on Rahul Gandhi by any Congress leader. It is your imagination. It is not an attack on him,” Ahmed said when asked about party leader Milind Deora’s remarks about the reasons for party’s failure in the just concluded lok Sabha polls. Ahmed said the Congress president as well as its Vice President have publicly accepted their responsibility.