Unity must, party's been good to all, time to repay: Sonia Gandhi at CWC meet

Aditi Tandon

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New Delhi, May 9

Ahead of the mid-May “Chintan Shivir” of the Congress in Udaipur, Sonia Gandhi on Monday sent out a clear message against indiscipline, reminding leaders that the party had been good to all and it was time to repay the debt.

Hit by recent election losses and defections, Sonia, addressing the Congress Working Committee today, assured the cadre of a restructured, battle-ready party for the forthcoming state and 2024 General Election. She said self-criticism was needed, but not at the cost of self-confidence.

Seeking unity, she sought the cooperation of leaders to ensure that the “single overriding message of unity, cohesion, determination and commitment to our party’s accelerated revival goes forth loud and clear from Udaipur”. Sonia also said that the Shivir (from May 13 to 15) could not be a mere ritual and must lead the way for Congress revival to challenge the BJP in 2024.

“Chintan Shivir should not become a ritual to just get through. I am determined that it heralds a restructured organisation to meet the many ideological, electoral and managerial challenges we confront,” Sonia said.

Signalling to the leaders who have exceeded their brief, she called for discipline, saying there were no magic wands. Only selfless work, discipline and consistent collective purpose can make Congress demonstrate tenacity and resilience, she said

“The party has been good to each and every one of us. At this crucial juncture, it is imperative that we step forward and repay our debt to the party in full measure…. Self-criticism is needed in party forums but this should not be done in a manner that erodes self-confidence and spreads doom and gloom,” she said.

On the importance of the Shivir, former minister Jairam Ramesh, speaking later, said the meeting was not a destination but an important milestone in a long journey.

He cited the party’s transformative changes after similar meetings in the past — Panchmarhi (1998), Shimla (2003) and Jaipur (2013).

“We are being called upon to bring a transformative change of unprecedented scale in the Congress. The Udaipur Shivir will be action-oriented, its principal aim is to prepare the Congress for 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” Ramesh said.

Nearly 400 delegates will participate in the Shivir with 21 per cent of them women and 50 per cent under 50 years.

Mukul Wasnik, head of the Congress panel on organisational matters, in his presentation to the CWC said a five-year term and then a cooling off for three years be considered for AICC office-bearers following which they can be reappointed.

The chairpersons of six discussion panels that Sonia had earlier formed today briefed the Congress Working Committee —- Mallikarjun Kharge on the political situation; P Chidambaram on economic issues; Bhupinder Singh Hooda on farm concerns; Mukul Wasnik on organisational matters, Salman Khurshid on social justice and Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Warring on youth.

Other approvals

The Congress Working Committee approved two more items — amendment to the Congress Constitution to enable formalisation of ongoing digital memberships and establishment of Ladakh Territorial Congress along the lines of the Chandigarh one.