New Delhi: Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday called for “unity at all levels” in the party’s organisation, and vowed she would do “whatever is needed” to ensure it.
Gandhi was speaking at a meet of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the House.
By underscoring unity within party ranks, Sonia Gandhi may have reached out to dissenters or the G23, a group of 23 leaders who are extremely critical of the Gandhi leadership.
Gandhi said the revival of Congress was “not just a matter of importance to us, but is essential for our democracy and society as well”.
She added: “Unity at all levels of the organisation is of paramount importance. I am determined to do whatever is needed to ensure it.”
With dismal performances in electoral politics, and beset with defections and infighting, the Congress has significantly shrunk in both influence and leadership in the Opposition space.
Gandhi acknowledged it when she said: “The road ahead for the Congress is more challenging than ever before. Our spirit of resilience is under severe test.”
Gandhi accused the ruling BJP of continuing to target the Opposition. She said: “Threats, other tactics will neither frighten nor silence us.”
She also said the Congress would “not allow the BJP to damage the bonds of amity and harmony that have sustained, enriched our diverse society for centuries.”
She said the BJP’s divisive agenda regularly surfaced in the political discourse and that the ruling party had “mischievously distorted history to add fuel to its agenda”.
She lauded the fact that the “value of non-alignment as a foundational principle of the nation’s foreign policy” was now being rediscovered. She made this indirect reference to India’s neutral stand of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, adding, “But it was criticised so much in the past.”
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi were present at the meeting.
Also read: Poll defeats, G-23 pressure — Why Sonia Gandhi is taking centrestage in Congress once again