‘Lack of Clarity’ at Top After Rahul Gandhi’s Resignation Hurting Congress: Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor also backed Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's assessment that a young leader would be more suitable at this juncture for the Congress party

New Delhi: The Congress party across the country is going through a “lack of clarity” over leadership following Rahul Gandhi’s resignation, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Sunday. The Thiruvananthapuram MP further asserted that the only way forward is to open up all key posts.

Tharoor backed Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s assessment that a young leader would be more suitable at this juncture for the Congress party and added that all top posts including the Congress Working Committee (CWC) membership, should be opened to fresh elections to help legitimise the incoming set of leaders.

“It is certainly quite true that the lack of clarity at the top of the party is likely to be hurting the Congress workers and sympathisers, many of whom miss the fact of having a party leader to look to for key decisions, authority and even inspiration and energy, to rally together and move forward,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

Speaking to news agency PTI, Tharoor expressed his displeasure with the current states of affairs of the Congress party and said that there is no clear answer to the “predicament that we in the Congress are facing”.

The senior Congress leader also said that he hoped that the CWC is taking the current situation “very seriously” and is doing its best to find a solution without further delay.

Tharoor further talked about his hopes that party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra considers herself in the party chief’s post that has been left empty after her brother’s resignation.

Priyanka Gandhi has a “natural charisma” and also comes with able organisational experience, having been an influential figure at the core of the party for a while now and on the ground in Uttar Pradesh during the last elections, he said.

“But at the same time…Rahul Gandhi’s statement that no member from the Gandhi family should replace him, seems to rule this option out. It is really for the Gandhi family to decide where they collectively stand on this issue,” he added.

However, on being asked whether he would take the chief post himself, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said that there are many others who have been with the party for much longer than he had.

“I have also never held a senior organisational role like that of a General Secretary and the organisation that I do head within the party, the All India Professionals” Congress, while catering to an important and influential section of society, is relatively smaller just in terms of numbers,” he further added.

Rahul Gandhi announced his resignation as Congress president on May 25. However, the CWC has not accepted the resignation yet.

With PTI inputs