‘Leader after leader leaving Congress’: G-23 leaders call for introspection after Ashwani Kumar’s exit

The continued exodus of leaders from the Congress has once again brought the spotlights back on the simmering tension in the party. While the Grand Old Party remains mum on the issue, leaders of the G-23 group believe that all is not within the party. 

On a day when former Law minister Ashwani Kumar quit the party saying that the Congress was not the party it used to be earlier, senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the exit of “leader after leader” was a “matter of serious concern”. 

On Kumar’s exit, Azad told The Indian Express: “It is a matter of great concern that leader after leader are leaving the party. Kumar, I think, is the fourth or fifth Union minister who has left, besides a large number of leaders and workers at various levels across the country.”

“This shows the Congress needs to do a lot of introspection to find the cause of these exits. It is not right to say these leaders are going at the behest of any individual, or (any) party. There must be some disquiet within the party (that) makes even hardcore Congress leaders uncomfortable,” he added. 

Along with Azad, Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma and Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari said that it is time the party a serious and sincere introspection. All three are signatories to the letter 23 senior leaders had written to the party president Sonia Gandhi, calling for sweeping changes in the Congress. 

Meanwhile, party leaders Manish Tewari and Vivek Tankha called Kumar’s exit “sad” and “unfortunate”. 

“Mr Ashwani Kumar and I worked together in Dr Manmohan Singh’s government. He and I have had civilised differences on a number of issues. However, even if a small worker leaves the party, it calls for introspection,” Tewari told The Indian Express. 

Arguing that a strong, united Congress is in the country’s interest, Azad said there is a need for introspection to make that materialise: “why this is happening has to be gone into”. Pointing out that Kumar’s family’s association with the party goes back to the pre-Independence era, he said, “If such people go then that means there is something wrong.”

The leadership vacuum in the party has been highlighted by several party leaders in the past few months. After RPN Singh and Jitin Prasada quitting the party, Kumar’s exit highlights the crisis faced by the party along with the infighting in its state units. 

Political observers believe that the Congress, which has government in just three states now, might face an existential crisis amid the continuous poll debacles faced since 2014.