NEW DELHI, June 8: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday was unanimously re-elected as the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP).
The Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge proposed Sonia Gandhi’s name as the chairperson of the parliamentary party at the CPP meeting held at the central hall of the old Parliament building. The proposal was seconded by Gaurav Gogoi, K Sudhakaran and Tariq Anwar and was unanimously adopted.
“You have fought a tough election under the most challenging of circumstances. You have surmounted many obstacles and campaigned so very effectively,” the senior Congress leader said, noting that their efforts have given the Congress a “much greater presence” in the Lok Sabha and a “more effective voice” in the house proceedings.
Sonia Gandhi recounted the challenges the party faced during the Lok Sabha elections, including the freezing of bank accounts by the Income Tax department. “(Congress) was up against a mighty and malevolent machine that was doing its utmost to destroy us. It tried to cripple us financially. It carried out a campaign against us and our leaders that was full of lies and defamation,” she said.
“Many wrote our obituaries! But under the determined leadership of Kharge ji we persevered. He is an inspiration to all of us.” She lauded the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as historic movements that rejuvenated the party at all levels, thanking Rahul Gandhi for his “tenacity and determination” in the face of “unprecedented personal and political attacks.”
Gandhi also called for introspection on improving performance in states where expectations were not met, a point earlier made by Congress president Kharge at the meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee which preceded the CPP meeting.
She asserted that Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi suffered a political and moral defeat since he “sought the mandate solely in his name,” and said he has lost the moral right to leadership.
“Yet, far from taking responsibility for failure he intends to get himself sworn in again tomorrow. We do not expect him to change the substance and style of his governance, nor take cognizance of the will of the people,” Gandhi said.
“That is why, as members of the CPP, we have a special obligation to be watchful, vigilant and proactive in holding him and his new NDA Government accountable,” she added. “No longer can and should Parliament be bulldozed like it has been for a decade now. No longer will the writ of the ruling establishment be permitted to disrupt Parliament, whimsically mistreat members or push through legislation without due and proper consideration and debate. No longer can and should Parliamentary Committees be ignored or bypassed like they have been since 2014. No longer will Parliament be muzzled and stifled as it has been over the past ten years.”
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday that her party would adopt a “wait and watch” approach on the political situation at the Centre and asserted that the opposition INDIA bloc may not have staked claim to form the government today, but that did not mean it would not do it tomorrow.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of TMC MPs and senior leaders, Banerjee said she would be pleased if the “weak and unstable” NDA government was removed from power. “The BJP is forming the government undemocratically and illegally. Today, the INDIA bloc may not have staked a claim to form the government, but that doesn’t mean they won’t tomorrow. Let’s wait for some time,” she said. Ultimately, the INDIA bloc will form the government in the coming days, the Trinamool Congress supremo asserted. “We are waiting and watching. The country needs change,” she added.
The TMC chairperson nominated Sudip Banerjee as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha and Kalyan Banerjee as the Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha. “We cannot congratulate this new government as people voted against it,” she added.
(Manas Dasgupta)
