Expelled UP Cong leaders urge Sonia Gandhi to 'rise above affinity for family' to revive party

Lucknow: Nine expelled Congress leaders have written to party president Sonia Gandhi, asking her to “rise above the affinity for the family (parivaar ke moh)” and run the organisation by establishing mutual trust and restoring the constitutional and democratic values.

The letter from the UP veterans comes days after 23 senior Congress leaders wrote to Gandhi, saying uncertainty over the party leadership has “demoralised Congress workers”. They also said over-centralisation and micro-management have always proven counter-productive.

In the letter dated September 2 and addressed to Gandhi, the nine Congress leaders, including former MP Santosh Singh and former minister Satyadev Tripathi, said Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi built the Congress and the country with democratic values.

But it’s ironical that for sometime, the way in which the party is being run, there is confusion (”asmanjas”) and depression (”avsaad”) among the ordinary Congress worker, they added.

“At a time, when the country’s democratic values and social fabric is lying scattered, the need of the country is that Congress remain alive, dynamic and strong. You please rise above the affinity for the family, and as per traditions, restore the expression of thoughts, constitutional and democratic values, and run the organisation by establishing communication and mutual trust,” the leaders urged Gandhi.

Singh and Tripathi were among the 10 senior leaders who were expelled from the primary membership of the Congress on November 24 last year for six years for allegedly tarnishing the party’s image and opposing its leadership’s decisions at public forums.