Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath and P Chidambaram put sons above party interest: Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday rejected party president Rahul Gandhi’s offer of resignation amid dramatic scenes that saw the leader accept responsiblity for the Lok Sabha debacle even as he lashed out at senior leaders for putting the interests of their sons ahead of the party.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), which met to deliberate on the defeat, saw an angry Rahul Gandhi blame party veterans for pushing for tickets for their sons. His intervention came after Jyotiraditya Scindia argued that Congress needed to groom strong local leaders.
Rahul pointed out Congress had done badly in states where Congress was in power. He went on to add that CMs Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan and Kamal Nath of Madhya Pradesh insisted on tickets for their sons even when he was not in favour of accepting their requests. He also mentioned former Union minister P Chidambaram’s name in this context.
Appearing overwrought in the wake of the massive defeat, Rahul also accused the party leaders of not taking forward the issues that he had raised in the campaign to build a strong narrative against BJP and its mascot Narendra Modi.
Sources said Rahul specifically mentioned the Rafale deal and the associated slogan “chowkidar chor hai”, asking for a show of hand by CWC members who had followed his suit.
Saying that he wanted accountability in the organisation, Rahul accepted responsibility for the defeat and announced that he was quitting his post as the party chief. It triggered emotional scenes with senior leaders arguing that he had led from the front and there was no reason for him to be disheartened.
After A K Antony, Ahmed Patel and Chidambaram sought to comfort him, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Rahul would be falling into the trap of BJP if he quit. Other leaders also chimed in, urging him to stay put. Interestingly, a veteran said there was nobody to step into his shoes and that “workers would commit suicide” if he . The CWC later rejected his offer of resignation and told him that he had full freedom to take all measures necessary for organisational overhaul of the party at all levels.
Though the offer was anticipated since the CWC meeting was convened on the evening of election results, what triggered commotion in the gathering was that Rahul refused to relent even as senior members including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tried to coax him out of his stance.
Interestingly, according to sources, when one participant remarked who else could lead the party, Rahul interjected, “why only us?” It was viewed as a reference to the Gandhi family. Rahul apparently said anyone could become the Congress president.
Later, AK Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters that the resignation had been unanimously rejected and there was no confusion that Rahul continues to be the AICC president.
An office-bearer told Rahul Gandhi that BJP and RSS wanted him to quit since he was fighting against them, adding that his going silent would fulfill their wish. Rahul was also told that no Congress worker was blaming the leadership for the defeat but were attributing it to circumstances that developed during the campaign period.
The CWC meeting took place against the backdrop of the outcome of an election in which dynastic succession and politics of entitlement figured prominently, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi dubbing Rahul as a “ naamdaar” or a dynast. The PM had attacked the Nehru -Gandhi dynasty as a whole, daring Congress to contest the election on the strength of the scorecard of the family.
The “unanimous” rejection of the resignation offer came even as many in the party feared that such an outcome might appear “scripted” and might not pass muster with people.