Amid Congress' internal crisis, Gehlot bats for Sonia, Rahul Gandhi

JAIPUR: At a time when the Congress is in the middle of a major internal crisis, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, considered as a Gandhi family loyalist, seems to be keeping his cards close to his chest while sitting back quietly in his home state when his fellow leaders have shot off a letter to party interim chief Sonia Gandhi demanding sweeping changes in the party from top to bottom. Gehlot displayed his loyalty to the Gandhis through a tweet on Sunday, a day before the CWC meeting, which reflected his full trust and devotion to Sonia Gandhi. He also asked her to continue leading the party while he expressed his wish that Rahul Gandhi should become Congress president in the future.

Gehlot also expressed shock and surprise over 23 senior Congress leaders writing a letter to Sonia and termed it "unfortunate".

"The news of 23 senior-most Congress leaders writing a letter to Hon'ble Congress President is unbelievable and if it is true - it's very unfortunate. There was no need to go to the media. I strongly believe that Sonia Gandhiji should continue to lead the party at this crucial juncture," Gehlot said in a series of tweets on Sunday.

"She has always taken challenges head on. But if she has made up her mind - I believe @RahulGandhi should go ahead and become the Congress President as the country faces the biggest challenge to save our Constitution - Democracy," Gehlot tweeted.

Meanwhile, Govind Singh Dotasra, the new Rajasthan Congress unit chief who replaced Sachin Pilot after the political turmoil in the state, also wrote a letter to Sonia on Sunday and said that all party members have full trust in her leadership.

"The Congress set up is presently fighting with undemocratic forces under the strong and able leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. There can be no replacement to this leadership," Dotasra said in his letter written on Sunday.

He further said that Congress will scale new heights in the coming days under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, many other Congress leaders in Rajasthan expressed confidence in the Gandhi family's leadership and said that either Sonia or Rahul Gandhi should take the flag and march ahead. They also rejected the proposal of Gehlot being shifted to Delhi to lead from the front in the party.

A senior Congress leader said that Congress should be led either by Rahul Gandhi or his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Both of them were quite aggressive on Monday during the CWC meeting. The 23 senior leaders who wrote a letter were questioned on their loyalty which speaks volumes and proves that the party shall be led by the Gandhi family in the future and there is no substitute to them, he said.

"Both Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal were silenced by the Gandhi siblings in the meeting," he said adding, "Gehlotji it seems is preferring to give his remaining three years time to Rajasthan and shall continue to lead the state as CM. Since this morning, he is quiet and has not tweeted anything in this context which means he wants to enjoy his comfort zone in his home state. If required, he shall go to Delhi during the next Lok Sabha election to guide the party."

Other Congress leaders also opined the same and asked why would any person ruling one of the biggest states of central India, want to go to Delhi when he has everything settled in Rajasthan. "There is no point in Gehlot going to Delhi to lead the party as is being whispered," said another Congress leader. (IANS)

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