Congress needs full-time chief, says Sena; claims party's old guard in secret pact with BJP

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Friday called for the need to appoint a full-time Congress president, and said the confusion prevailing over the leadership in the party was as much responsible for the political crisis in Punjab as the BJP. The Sena also claimed that although Rahul Gandhi was trying to resolve the issues faced by the Congress, the old-timers in the party were in a secret pact with the BJP to stop him from doing so with the aim of sinking the party. “Congress needs a full-time president. What is the use of a body without a head?…Congress is ailing and it is being treated, but whether that treatment is right or not needs to be reviewed,” the party said in an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’. “Rahul Gandhi is trying to fix the leakages in the old mansion (Congress), but some old feudal lords are not letting the new people work. They have started claiming ownership over several things in the mansion…It is now confirmed that the party’s old guard is in a secret pact with BJP and they are trying to sink Congress,” it alleged. But if there is no commander, how will the party fight? This demand of some wise Congress veterans is not wrong. The answer to this question over leadership question is the Gandhi family, but who exactly from among them is a question that persists, said the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, which shares power in Maharashtra with Congress and NCP. The doubt and confusion over the leadership in Congress needs to be cleared, it added. Rahul Gandhi has taken a strong step by appointing a Dalit leader as the chief minister of Punjab, but his own dear Navjot Singh Sidhu has created problems for him. As there was already no dearth of leaders in Congress who shoot their mouths off, there was no need for Rahul Gandhi to show so much trust in Sidhu, who joined the party recently, the Sena said. Congress has increased its own troubles by giving undue importance to this unpredictable leader, it added. Criticising former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and also Goa’s ex-CM Luizinho Faleiro, who has now joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Sena said, “It is the height of their thick-skinned behaviour. These leaders were given top posts, like chief minister of their respective states by the Congress, but they are now leaving the party.” Similarly, Jitin Prasada was made a union cabinet minister when Congress was in power. However, he joined BJP later and made a minister in the party-led UP government, it said. Congress has been in power for many years in the country and presently ruling in some states. However, the party has been facing problems after the BJP came to power and Narendra Modi became the prime minister, the Sena said.