Congress mounts staunch defence of top brass, Gandhi loyalists hit hard at dissenters

New Delhi: The internal feud in the Congress escalated on Thursday with some senior leaders coming out in strong defence of the top leadership and slammed Kapil Sibal and other dissenting veterans of the group of 23(G-23) who in turn strongly condemned the attack on the house of the former Union minister here calling it an “orchestrated hooliganism”. Amid the turmoil in the Congress and multiple desertions and former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh’s emphatic statement he will quit the party, the party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet “very soon”, a day after some G-23 leaders demanded such a meeting. Singh, who was forced to quit last week, asserted the Congress was going downhill with senior leaders being ignored but scotched any speculation of his joining the BJP. A day after Sibal raised questions over the functioning of the party and called for a “dialogue”, some senior leaders targeted him and other G-23 veterans. In an apparent dig at Sibal and the G-23, Congress general secretary Tariq Anwar said it is amazing to see how some people’s character can change so much in their “selfishness”. “Those who took advantage of being in power the most by the grace of the leadership, are today bent on challenging the leadership. It seems that they have a habit of being in power, how can they cope with struggle?” Anwar said in a tweet in Hindi. Talking to reporters in Raipur, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is battling dissidence in the party’s state unit, termed Sibal’s remarks raising questions over the party’s functioning as “unfortunate”. Posting an Urdu couplet of Mirza Ghalib, former law minister Ashwani Kumar took a dig at Sibal and tweeted, “Humein unse thi wafa ki umeed, jo jante nahi wafa kya hai (We hoped for loyalty from those who do not know what loyalty is).” At a press conference in Ahmedabad, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the party leaders must not go public with the internal matters as it hurts the ground-level workers. Asserting that the Congress gives enough freedom to its leaders to express their views, he said internal matters should not be discussed publicly for the sake of “discipline” and that they should be raised on a proper platform only. Senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Shashi Tharoor, Vivek Tankha and Raj Babbar were among those who rallied behind Sibal, with Sharma asking Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take strong action against those involved in the attack on the former Union minister’s house on Wednesday night. They took to social media to voice their concern. Chidambaram tweeted that he feels helpless when “we cannot start meaningful conversations within party forums”. “I also feel hurt and helpless when I see pictures of Congress workers raising slogans outside the residence of a colleague and MP. The safe harbour to which one can withdraw seems to be silence.” Surjewala said the party president had indicated last week that a meeting of the CWC, the top decision-making body of the party, would be called very soon. “Before leaving for Shimla, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had already indicated that a CWC meeting shall be called very soon. Accordingly, the CWC meeting shall be held in the coming days,” Surjewala told PTI. On Wednesday, Azad and Sibal, who are part of a group of 23 leaders (G-23) seeking organisational revamp, demanded that a meeting of the CWC be convened immediately to discuss internal party issues such as a spate of defections from the party and turmoil in many state units including Punjab. Sibal had also raised questions on the decision-making process in the party in the absence of a regular president and demanded a “dialogue” where all senior leaders would be heard. Congress workers had protested outside Sibal’s house and reportedly damaged a car. Amarinder Singh also criticised what he said was an “attack” at the house of Sibal by Congress workers only because he “chose to express views that were not palatable to the party leadership”. This does not augur well for the party, Singh said, adding that it was unfortunate that the seniors are being “completely sidelined”, which is not good for the party. Azad, a former leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, also strongly condemned the “orchestrated hooliganism” at Sibal’s residence. “He (Sibal) is a loyal Congressman fighting for the party both inside and outside Parliament. Any suggestion from any quarter should be welcomed instead of suppressing, hooliganism is unacceptable,” tweeted Azad. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “Orchestrated hooliganism outside Kapil Sibal’s residence last night is not the culture of the Congress.” “If one has any difference of views, the same should be brought up and discussed at party forum,” he said on Twitter. Asserting that difference of opinion and perception are integral to democracy, Sharma, also a part of the G-23, said intolerance and violence is alien to Congress values and culture. “Shocked and disgusted to hear the news of attack and hooliganism at Kapil Sibal’s house. This deplorable action brings disrepute to the party and needs to be strongly condemned,” Sharma said in a series of tweets. He asserted that Congress has a history of upholding freedom of expression. Those responsible must be identified and disciplined, Sharma said. “Urging Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take cognisance and strong action,” he said in a tweet. Taking to Twitter, Congress MP from Punjab, Manish Tewari, unequivocally condemned what he said was the “orchestrated hooliganism”. “Those who masterminded the assault must bear in mind that he fights for @INCIndia both inside and outside courts of law. You may find his views uncomfortable but that cannot be a license for violence,” said Tewari, who was among the group 23 leaders who wrote to Gandhi last year. Responding to Tewari’s tweet, Shashi Tharoor, who was also among the group, tweeted, “That is shameful. We all know @KapilSibal as a true Congressman who has fought multiple cases in court for @INCIndia.” “As a democratic party we need to listen to what he has to say, disagree if you must but not in this way. Our priority is to strengthen ourselves to take on the BJP!” he said.