Entire Congress in Karnataka stands by Gandhi family: State Cong leaders

Bengaluru: Amid talks of having a “full time” leadership in Congress that is active in the field and “visible,” leaders of the party’s Karnataka unit on Sunday threw their weight behind the Gandhi family.

The Party’s state unit chief D K Shivakumar said the entire Congress party in Karnataka stands by the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and the Gandhi family.

“Mrs Gandhi has led Congress during times of crisis and saved our party. Anything that has to be discussed must be done so in the party forum and not in the media,” he tweeted.

Leader of the Opposition in the assembly and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah termed the development as “unfortunate.”

“It is unfortunate that the leadership of Gandhi family is being questioned by a few. In these difficult times of undeclared emergency & attack on democracy by @BJP4India, we should collectively strive to strengthen @INCIndia & not weaken it,” the former Chief Minister tweeted.

The tweets by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar came amid reports that 23 Congress leaders have written to party chief Sonia Gandhi on the leadership issue.

Having a “full time” leadership that is active in the field and “visible” in party offices, dissolution of powers to state units and revamping the CWC in line with the party constitution are some of the far-reaching suggestions made by 23 senior Congress leaders in a letter to Sonia Gandhi to revive the organization, sources said on Sunday.

They were also critical of the way the Congress Working Committee, the party’s apex decision-making body, was being constituted and was functioning.