Former Law Minister and senior advocate Ashwani Kumar.Organisational changes in the Congress carried out by party president Sonia Gandhi signals a balancing of experience, loyalty and youthful energy, and provides a road map for generational change, party leader Ashwani Kumar said Saturday.
The former Union minister said the “overwhelming acceptance” of changes shows the “practice of nominations” to party posts through a consultative process has found acceptance in the party.
Kumar said that by retaining some of the 23 senior leaders, who had written a letter to Sonia, in “important roles”, the leadership has sought to give a “quietus” to “internal dissent” while asserting authority. The reshuffle, he said, bore Sonia’s imprint.
‘G-23’ next move will be interesting
Sonia Gandhi’s decision to retain senior leaders among the 23 letter writers — such as Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma — in the CWC, and include some others in key committees is being interpreted differently by many of the signatories. While some see it as a reconciliatory gesture, some say fundamental questions such as holding of elections from top to bottom have not been addressed. It will be interesting to see how the ‘G-23’ will move forward after the reshuffle and reconstitution of the CWC.
“The limited duration of the tenure of the special committee to assist Sonia Gandhi indicates the possibility of a new leadership structure… An overwhelming acceptance by party men (leaders) of the changes shows the practice of nominations to party posts through a consultative process has found acceptance in the party,” Kumar said. “The litmus test for Congress, however, is to accurately assess public mood on vital issues… The future will depend upon the party’s ability to catch the imagination of the people through transformative leadership.”