Janardan Dwivedi is a former Congress general secretary. (File)With Congress facing a leadership crisis following the resignation of Rahul Gandhi as party chief, veteran leader Janardan Dwivedi Tuesday suggested setting up a formal committee to select a new president rather than a few leaders holding informal discussions.
“The credibility of the panel holding informal discussions on selecting the new Congress chief would have been more if it was formally set up,” PTI quoted Dwivedi as saying.
An informal group of top leaders comprising the likes of Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik have been meeting on a daily basis to discuss the options but is yet to arrive at a solution.
The former Congress general secretary also said the panel, once formed, should hold consultations with workers and leaders before selecting the next Congress president.
Dwivedi’s remarks come a day after another Congress veteran Karan Singh said he was “aghast to see the confusion and disorientation into which the party has fallen since Rahul Gandhi resigned on May 25”.
Singh, who has worked with four generations of leaders from the Nehru-Gandhi family, called for the appointment of an interim president at the earliest to be assisted by four young working presidents or vice presidents.
There has been intense lobbying in the Congress ever since Rahul resigned last week, with the seniors suggesting that a veteran should take over and be assisted by one or more young working presidents. However, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh demanded that a young leader should take over the reins of the Congress.
