Himanta Sarma mocks Rahul: Good for BJP if he continues as Cong chief for 50 years

Amid speculations of Congress president Rahul Gandhi stepping down following the party’s debacle in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, Assam MLA Himanta Biswa Sarma took a jibe at the Congress chief and said if there is no Rahul Gandhi then there is a possibility of a vibrant opposition, ANI reported.

In an apparent sarcastic remark, Sarma told ANI, “In Parliament, there should be space for the opposition, so if there is no Rahul Gandhi then there is a possibility of a vibrant opposition. But if I look from BJP’s point of view and not India’s then we wish that Rahul Gandhi continues as Congress President for the next 50 years.”

Gandhi, who had cancelled all meetings on Monday and became incommunicado, held a series of meetings with senior party leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Tuesday.

Senior party leaders, including Shashi Tharoor, are convincing Gandhi to continue at the helm of affairs of the grand old party. Tharoor had in an interview to PTI said that Gandhi is the best person to pull the Congress out of its predicament. “The Congress has no time to sit and lick its wounds as it must immediately pick itself up for the upcoming state elections,” Tharoor told PTI.

Meanwhile, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit also appealed to party president to withdraw his decision to step down. “Under the dynamic leadership of Indira Gandhi, the Congress party fought back from the setback in the 1977 Lok Sabha elections to wrest power two-and-a-half years later, and the party remained in power for several years thereafter,” Dikshit said in a statement.

The CWC meeting was recently held in the backdrop of the Congress winning just 52 Lok Sabha seats and drawing a nought in 18 states and Union Territories. Gandhi himself lost from the family bastion of Amethi in UP to BJP’s Smriti Irani.