Gandhis engage with G-23 leaders, Rahul Gandhi meets Bhupinder Hooda

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, March 17

A day after 18 senior Congress leaders, including some G-23 veterans and former chief ministers, sought collective leadership and decision-making in the party, parleys on the way forward began on Thursday.

Prominent G-23 leader and former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda had a morning meeting with former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Soon afterwards, Hooda met Azad at the latter’s residence here and they had a long discussion on concrete and workable proposals for Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take forward.

G-23 favours complete overhaul

• After the Hooda-Azad meeting, G-23 leaders got together for the second time in 24 hours to discuss concrete proposals to revive the Cong
• One of the proposals is to immediately revive the party’s parliamentary board
• Also, it wants state chiefs to quit for a complete overhaul

The two leaders are learnt to have discussed the current political situation, party’s prospects in Haryana, where the Aam Aadmi Party (after winning the Punjab elections) is presenting itself as an alternative to the Congress, and the measures needed to be battle-ready.

Hours after Hooda met Azad, the G-23 leaders again assembled at the latter’s residence — second time in 24 hours — to discuss concrete proposals to revive the Congress. It is learnt that the Gandhis have engaged some leaders, including Acharya Pramod Krishnam from UP, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh, to talk to G-23 about its demands.

‘All state congress chiefs should resign’

All state chiefs should resign for a revamp so that the party is energised for all future elections. —A Congress leader

The intermediaries are in touch with top G-23 leaders. It is learnt one of the principal proposals of G-23 is to immediately revive the party’s parliamentary board, once its highest decision-making body on policy matters. The group is also in favour of a complete overhaul, following the resignation of all state chiefs rather than just of those from the five states the Congress lost.

“The parliamentary board comprised stalwarts and served the party well after Independence. It must be revived,” said a senior G-23 leader.

“All state chiefs should resign, paving the way for a revamp so that the organisation is energised for all future elections, including those in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh next year,” a leader who attended yesterday’s meeting at Azad’s residence said.

Azad is expected to meet Sonia Gandhi any time soon.

Sources said Hooda reiterated to Rahul Gandhi that none of the 18 leaders spoke of leaving the Congress.

The statement from the leaders reflected clearly that they saw the Congress as the sole alternative to the BJP and wanted to strengthen it.

“The only way forward for the Congress is inclusive leadership,” a G-23 source today reiterated while asserting that the “business as usual” attitude which decimated the party in UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa will not work.

At the meeting yesterday, leaders also dissected certain policy decisions the party took on the election eve, including the announcement of Charanjit Channi as the CM face in Punjab and the call to give 40 per cent tickets to women in UP when evidently eligible candidates were not available.

“Who made these decisions? The CWC did not,” said a leader who attended yesterday’s meeting.

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