Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will take the party to its 'deserved glory': Sandesh

New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi, who completed 17 years as Congress president this month, will “once again” lead the party to take it to its “deserved glory”, the party mouthpiece said on Tuesday amidst intense speculation whether Rahul Gandhi will take the party’s mantle any time soon. “Once again she will lead the party in the fight against anti-incumbency and falsehood… to bring the party to its deserved glory,” the Congress Sandesh said in its latest issue. [caption id=“attachment_2181719” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul.[/caption] The statement assumes significant amidst a raging debate over party vice president Rahul Gandhi’s prolonged absence and whether on his return he would take over as President, for which election has been announced on 30 September. On Monday the AICC announced that Rahul, who is on a long sabbattical, will be back in action to attend a Kisan rally in New Delhi on 19 April against the land ordinance brought out by the Narendra Modi government. The rally is important as it is being held on the eve of the second phase of the Budget session of Parliament at a time when almost the entire opposition has joined ranks against the ordinance, which is being dubbed by them as “anti-farmer and pro-corporate”. In its editorial, the party journal said that Sonia Gandhi completed 17 years as Congress chief on 12 March. “There has been no precedent of any person holding the position of the Congress president for 17 years in the 130 years history of the Grand Old Party,” it said. It recalled that Gandhi has led the party earlier at a time when it was passing through a turmoil and restored it to its primacy, an obvious reference to the return to power of the party in 2004. Sonia had assumed the post of Congress president amid a complete collapse faced by it in 1998 with BJP in the ascendant. She had replaced the late Sitaram Kesri in the seat. The organisational polls are being held at a time when Congress is looking to recover from its worst debacle in the Lok Sabha elections after being at the top for a decade since coming to power in 2004. Earlier reports spoke of the possibility of Rahul replacing his mother in the top party post as early as May. The possibility of a meeting in May of the Congress Working Committee as also of the AICC either in Delhi or in party-ruled Himachal Pradesh or Uttarakhand is being talked about for that purpose with senior leaders saying the issue of the Congress chief’s post will gain momentum after the return of Rahul. Only two days ago, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia had dismissed as “personal opinion” Captain Amarinder Singh’s view that Sonia Gandhi should continue as president and Rahul should be vice-president and that along the way, he will learn everything. “That may be his personal opinion. He may be saying this as personal opinion,” Scindia had said in an interview. To a question on whether this did not expose Singh’s lack of confidence in Rahul’s leadership, Scindia had said,“I do not agree with it. He has all the leadership qualities. He has many ideas to implement… Let us wait for him to come out with his blueprint.” PTI