Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan made the statement on Friday. (File Photo/Express Archive)Following the resignation of veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad from the party and his blistering no-holds-barred attack on Rahul Gandhi, former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has come out in support of him, saying that he had been marginalised in the party.
Chavan, who was a part of the G 23 group, told The Indian Express: “What has happened is unfortunate. We are extremely concerned about the state of affairs in the Congress party. This is why we had written a confidential letter to Sonia Gandhi, but unfortunately, it was made public. We were branded as a group of rebels. What Ghulam Nabi Azad wrote in his resignation today were exactly the issues we raised before the Congress party. If Rahul Gandhi is not interested, he must allow the elections to happen and elect a Congress president who is willing to take over.”
He added, “There has been no election in the last 24 years and every position in the party is manned by a yes man. They will not give unpopular and unpalatable advice and they will only say what the leadership likes to hear. The ball is now in Rahul Gandhi’s court. He must decide what to do.”
He further said that he was disheartened to see how Azad was marginalized in the party. “While Sonia Gandhi wants the old people to voice their opinion, the coterie around Rahul Gandhi does not want that. The classic example is that of Anand Sharma. He was made the in-charge of the steering committee for Himachal Pradesh elections but five meetings took place and he was invited for none. He resigned from this committee in a huff. Will Mrs Gandhi find out who was responsible for this humiliating behaviour? One can’t say that they forgot to call him because he was chairman of the committee,” Chavan added.