When Did Kapil Sibal…”: Backing For Gandhis Amid Congress vs Congress

New Delhi: 

When did Kapil Sibal fight an election for any position in the party, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid asked on Wednesday as he hit back at his party colleague for criticising the Gandhi family’s leadership.

Saying it was a “bit sad” to complain after receiving so much from the organisation, Mr Khurshid also attacked the ‘Group of 23’ signatories, including Mr Sibal, who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking sweeping changes in the party.

“The Gandhi family is the party’s integrating factor and the best possible leadership option in this moment of crisis,” Mr Khurshid told PTI, countering Mr Sibal who said it was time for the Gandhis to step aside from a leadership role and give some other person a chance.

“When did Mr. Sibal fight an election to get into any position in the party,” he asked in response to Mr Sibal’s remarks in an interview that the Gandhis should voluntarily move away because “a body nominated by them will never tell them that they should not continue to hold the reins of power”.

Mr Khurshid’s staunch defence of the Gandhis comes at a time the Congress faces an existential crisis following its electoral defeats in the recent assembly elections, including in Uttar Pradesh where it won only two seats and a little over 2 per cent of the votes.