Sonia Gandhi appointed as interim Congress chief; Rahul Gandhi led party fearlessly, say senior leaders

The Congress on Sunday passed a resolution unanimously appointing Sonia Gandhi as the interim chief of the party, in the second meeting of the Congress Working Committee ( CWC ) during the day. The announcement was made Sunday night after Congress Working Committee (CWC) accepted Rahul Gandhi’s resignation. A number of leaders, including state chiefs and MPs, had during the first CWC meeting held on Saturday morning, requested Rahul Gandhi to continue on the post despite his refusal to reconsider his resignation. [caption id=“attachment_7143461” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress President Rahul Gandhi with senior party leader Sonia Gandhi during Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. PTI[/caption] Gandhi had however asserted that he would not take back his resignation, even after CWC members unanimously urged him to reconsider, following which the party convened a wider consultation in the evening. Rahul Gandhi did not initially join the second CWC meeting which began at 9 pm, but joined the meeting later. At around 10.30 pm, he stepped out of the meeting and said that deliberations of the Congress Working Committee on the party’s leadership issue were briefly stopped for a presentation on the reports of violence in Jammu and Kashmir. “Now it is very important that the Government of India and the Prime Minister make it very clear and transparent on what exactly is happening in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” he said. “We are extremely concerned about the reports that are coming and the government needs to assuage the country and tell the country what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir,” he told reporters. Gandhi said he was called for this discussion and left the CWC meeting which had resumed deliberations on the leadership issue. Following the conclusion of meeting, the party announced that it had appointed three resolutions, relating to Jammu and Kashmir issue as well as regarding the leadership of the party. One resolution requested Sonia Gandhi to take the position of the interim Congress chief pending the election of a new president by the AICC. Rahul Gandhi was requested to accept stay on as party chief, however, he declined to withdraw his resignation, it said. Another resolution said that the CWC places on record its profound sense of appreciation and gratitude for the exceptional leadership provided by Rahul Gandhi as Congress president. “Rahul Gandhi led the party with unbounded drive, fierce determination and dedication,” Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala read the resolution in a press conference. “Rahul Gandhi’s instinctive moral compass is evident from the manner in which he has taken personal responsibility for the disappointing performance of the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, thereby setting new standards of accountability in public life,” the resolution added. A third resolution on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was also adopted by the Congress’ top decision-making body, Venugopal and Surjewala announced. - With inputs from PTI