Congress only party not breaking down ideologically: Rahul

The Congress is the only party which is not breaking down ideologically and therefore, it is best suited to take on the RSS-BJP, Rahul Gandhi said at an internal party meeting on Thursday amid the TMC political crisis.

Speaking at the meeting of the Congress top brass with general secretaries, in-charges and state unit chiefs here, Gandhi asserted that the party will strengthen further in the next couple of years due to its ideological steadfastness, sources said.

Gandhi noted that the country’s economy is in a very “fragile state” and asserted that this was due to the government’s policies and not merely due to international factors, he said. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said that pressure should be exerted so that the prime minister must speak on this situation, the sources said.

During the meeting, Gandhi also alleged that constitutional provisions in tribal areas in states and Union territories like Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are being deliberately violated to benefit industrialists favoured by the prime minister.

“If one party is not breaking down ideologically, it is the Congress. If there is one party that can fight the RSS-BJP, it is the Congress,” Gandhi was quoted as saying by the sources.

Gandhi’s remarks come amid the crisis TMC is facing following its defeat in the West Bengal assembly polls and a rebellion that has significantly weakened its organisational and legislative strength.

Last week, more than two-thirds of the TMC’s MLAs — 58 out of 80 — broke away from the official legislature party and secured recognition as the principal opposition bloc in the West Bengal assembly under expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee. The rebel camp has since claimed that its strength has risen further.

The crisis later spread to Parliament, with rebel MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claiming the support of more than 20 Lok Sabha members.