New Delhi: Following the political fiasco in the recently concluded assembly polls in the five states and the row over accountability, senior Congress leader and member of G-23 group Ghulam Nabi Azad is set to meet Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath today, news agency ANI reported.
As per ANI sources, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also be present in the meeting. The meeting holds significance in view of the dissatisfaction of G-23 leaders over the working style of Congress leadership.
According to ANI, Azad is likely to present the final proposal of G-23 members before the party’s high command. The meeting will decide the future of the G-23 group.
This meeting comes a day after Azad hosted G-23 leaders at his home for dinner.
Those who attended Wednesday’s meeting were Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Mani Shankar Aiyar, PJ Kurien, Parneet Kaur, Sandeep Dikshit, and Raj Babbar among others.
As per ANI sources, the meeting was earlier set to be held at Kapil Sibal’s residence who had invited G-23 leaders for dinner. However, it was later changed to Azad’s residence after Sibal’s remarks on the Gandhi family.
In an interview to a newspaper after Congress’ defeat in five assembly elections, Sibal had said that there is a need of leadership change in Congress and someone other than the Gandhi family needs to take command.
“Leadership is in cuckoo land… I want a ‘Sab ki Congress’. Some want a ‘Ghar ki Congress’,” he had said.
Post the meeting at Azad’s residence, G-23 members issued a joint statement saying that the only way forward for the Congress party is to adopt the model of inclusive leadership.
“We the… members of the Congress party met to deliberate on the demoralising outcome of the recent results of the Assembly elections and the constant exodus of both our workers and leaders. We believe that the only way forward is for the Congress party to adopt the model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision-making at all levels,” the statement said.
“In order to oppose the BJP, it is necessary to strengthen the Congress party. We demand the Congress party to initiate dialogue with other like-minded forces to create a platform to pave the way for a credible alternative for 2024,” the statement further said.