Amidst the ongoing internal rift within the Congress party over the issue of leadership, the Jharkhand Congress on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to senior party leader Furqan Ansari for criticising senior leader Rahul Gandhi and the party’s state in-charge RPN Singh.
According to the reports, Ansari, a former MP and a prominent Muslim leader in Jharkhand, had questioned about the manner in which Rahul Gandhi did campaigning in Bihar during the assembly elections. The former MP said that the Congress scion had kept mostly MBA graduates to work in his office and act as his advisors, who have failed to give proper advice to him.
Referring to an election rally by Rahul Gandhi at Kahalgaon in Bihar, Ansari said that the former party chief failed to impress the people as ‘they could not understand what he spoke’.
“As a result, they are not able to give him the right advice or suggest key talking points for his campaign speeches. To strengthen the Congress, it is important for Rahul Gandhi to have a political advisor,” said Ansari.
Ansari seeks major changes in party organisation, slams RPN Singh
Ansari also said he would write to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and seek major changes in the party organisation.
“I have been in Congress since 1980 when India Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India. I need no certificate to prove that I belong to Congress. But today it hurts me to see this condition of the party,” he had added.
Attacking the local leadership in Jharkhand and also the party in-charge RPN Singh, Furqan Ansari said, “If it was up to me, I would have not appointed RPN Singh even a block president”. Ansari’s son Irfan is the sitting MLA from Jamtara.
Following Ansari’s outburst at the Congress party’s leadership, there were demands from state leaders to take strict action against Ansari in a bid to send a ‘strong message’ to dissenting voices.
Congress party sends show-cause notice to Ansari for his outburst
Acting on requests from several leaders, Congress party’s Jharkhand working president Kamlesh Mahto has issued the show-cause notice to Ansari on behalf of state unit chief Rameshwar Oraon. Ansari has been asked to explain his remarks within seven days.
The statements made by Furqan Ansari interestingly came at a time when Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha offered to take the responsibility for the loss on behalf of the party’s central leadership. Jha said that he will step down from the post taking moral responsibility for the party’s poor show in the just-concluded assembly elections.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil along with Gujarat in-charge Rajeev Satav have also offered to quit from their posts after the party’s dismal performance.
Internal-rift brewing within the Congress party
Ansari’s outburst against party’s leadership comes as another revolt from within the Congress. Just a few days back, senior Congress leaders had expressed their disappointment over party’s performance in the Bihar polls and had raised questions over party’s leadership.
Senior leaders including Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram had criticised party’s approach in the Bihar legislative elections. More Congress loyalists are now turning rebels as the party continues to lose ground in state assembly elections.
Kapil Sibal, recently in an interview to Indian Express, had admitted that people no longer consider Congress as an effective alternative. Lashing out on the party, Sibal said that Congress has had six years to introspect and also has the answers. “The Congress party itself knows all the answers. But they are not willing to recognise those answers,” the former Union Minister had said.
Following Sibal’s comments, the Congress’s leader in the Lok Sabha – Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary had slammed Kapil Sibal indirectly by saying those criticizing the Congress can join some other party or start a new one instead of indulging in “embarrassing activities”.
Chaudhary, who is considered to be a loyalist for the Gandhis, had said that senior leaders should not indulge in such embarrassing activities since it can erode the credibility of the Congress. Salman Khurshid had also indirectly criticised Sibal in a Facebook post.
