Even as critics and opponents are listing out multiple reasons behind the poor show of Congress in elections, the party’s general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that his party needs to do some introspection. Speaking to the media, Scindia was responding to a question about senior leader Salman Khurshid’s statement about leadership “vacuum” in the party. “I don’t comment on others’ statement, but it is true that the Congress needs introspection. The party’s situation should be assessed and improved, and this is the need of the hour,” he said.
Scindia, meanwhile, expressed confidence that the Congress would do well in the Maharashtra Assembly polls. Khurshid had said that the Congress was taking too long to come to terms with its defeat in general elections. “Our biggest problem is our leader has walked away,” Khurshid said, referring to Rahul Gandhi’s resignation as party chief. He questioned the temporary appointment of Sonia Gandhi as the party chief and blamed former Rahul for walking away at a crucial time. He said that it was high time that the party analyse the reasons for its defeat in the general elections, adding that the same could not be done because Rahul ”walked away,” leaving the party in a leadership crisis.
“I am not happy with that (Sonia’s interim position). Whoever is our leader, I want him or her to stay. I want them to stay,” he said. On how he hoped his party will fare in the polls, Khurshid said, “We got a new leadership in Haryana and elsewhere, I hope we are ready.” Asked about what he thought of the severe infighting within the Congress wings in the two States, he said these were problems for everyone to see. “But we just have to handle them. What I am saying is let’s handle it. Time is short,” he said. Congress might turn down the comments of critics and rivals. But it cannot silence the voices from within. That too, with seniors like Khurshid and Scindia expressing discontent, it is time for the party high command to to do some introspection and come up with real solutions to address the crisis, perhaps the biggest ever it is facing in the recent decades.