CWC to meet again at 8 pm to select new party chief after Rahul declines to stay on
New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet on Saturday evening, the second time in the day, during which it is likely to take a final call on a new party president, after Rahul Gandhi rejected its unanimous appeal to reconsider his May 25 resignation.
The party's top decision-making body will reconvene at 8 pm to discuss reports of five groups, formed earlier in the day, and scrutinize the names of the potential successor to Rahul Gandhi.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi recused themselves from the process saying they they cannot be part of the consultations as they have been Congress presidents in the past and would not like the opinion of the party leaders to be influenced in any manner.
At 11 am, the Congress' top brass, including ex-prime minister Manmohan Singh, party general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ahmed Patel, A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad and P Chidambaram, went into a huddle at the All India Congress Committee headquarters here.
The CWC decided to have consultations with leaders from across the country and it was divided into five groups for different regions -- northeast, east, north, west and south.
The CWC group for the northeast region included top party leaders such as Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat. The group for eastern region included AICC general secretary (organisaton) K C Venugopal, ex-Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and former Union minister Kumari Selja.
The northern region group included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jyotiraditya Scindia and P Chidambaram. The western region group was has leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, A K Antony and Motilal Vora.
The group for the southern region included Manmohan Singh, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik. The five groups were formed to hold wider consultations with party leaders from across the country that included state unit chiefs, parliamentarian and Congress Legislative Party leaders.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his deputy Sachin Pilot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Puducherry CM V Narayansamy were also part of the consultation process.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said several leaders who could not make it to New Delhi have been consulted over phone. The five groups will place their final report before the CWC at 8 pm.
The CWC is yet to accept Rahul Gandhi's resignation and began its meeting by urging him to continue as party chief in the wake of the BJP's "onslught on democracy and dissent," Surjewala said.
It, however, proceeded with the deliberations on the party's next chief after Rahul Gandhi made it clear that he will not take back his resignation.
Party sources said most leaders rooted for Rahul Gandhi to continue or Priyanka Gandhi to be made Congress president, signalling a deep divide in the party over who could lead it in these "trying times".
Narayansamy told reporters, "I told them that Rahul Gandhi should continue as AICC president. They asked me for an alternative, but I said there is none. We have to persuade him to withdraw his resignation because he is the only leader who can carry the party forward and strengthen it."
Rahul Gandhi has already said the next party chief should be a non-Gandhi, making the task of Congress leaders difficult. He said that he will spend the next two days in his constituency Wayanad in flood-hit Kerala.
The delay in selecting the new party chief, sources say, is rooted in the fact that there is lack of consensus on the name of a non-Gandhi president.
"We cannot be part of this process of selecting the new party chief," Sonia Gandhi said as she along with Rahul Gandhi recused themselves from the consultation process.
Clarity on the issue is expected by tonight, with Surjewala saying, "There is a sense that this impasse should end as soon as possible, which is why the CWC will meet again at 8 pm to take a call."
He said Rahul Gandhi, while refusing to continue as party chief, asked the CWC to broad-base the consultation process and engage state chiefs, CLP leaders, MPs, and AICC secretaries.
"The CWC will meet at 8 pm and decide on the new party chief," Surjewala said.
"Both Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi felt that if a democratic process is to be obtained, then they have to recuse themselves. Sonia Gandhi said her presence is not required so that the process remains transparent and uninfluenced. That's why they recused themselves," he said.
A number of partymen have expressed their opinion in public, that the delay in selecting the new Congress chief is harming the party.
As the Congress began the process of finding Rahul Gandhi's successor, senior party leader Shashi Tharoor said on Saturday the new chief should be a person who can energise the party's organisation and inspire the voters, asserting that the Congress cannot afford "business as usual".
"For those following the #CWC meet to decide on a new @INCIndia President: My position remains what I first articulated more than a month ago: CWC should choose an Interim President asap (as soon as possible), then resign & announce open elections for both President & CWC," the Thiruvananthapuram MP tweeted.
The party has also been grappling with a series of desertions by leaders in Karnataka and Maharashtra, the latest being that by ex-Congress Rajya Sabha chief whip Bhubaneswar Kalita and MP Sanjay Singh.
With elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana coming up, the party is hoping to resolve the leadership issue quickly and move forward.
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Women''s Bill: Stalin says proposal amid polls raises suspicion; backs 33 per cent reservation
Chennai (PTI): Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday alleged that the proposed amendment to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in the midst of polls in states including Tamil Nadu appeared to be yet another political manoeuvre aimed at shaping electoral narratives.
Stalin alleged the timing for the proposed amendment led to serious suspicion.
"Why push such a far-reaching decision in the middle of state elections. This appears to be yet another political manoeuvre aimed at shaping electoral narratives, much like earlier attempts to influence women voters ahead of the 2024 Parliament elections," he alleged in a statement titled "This is not reform, this is reengineering power."
Further, he said: "Let me be unequivocal: we strongly support 33 per cent reservation for women. Our support is absolute. But it must be implemented without increasing seats and without punishing states that acted responsibly. If the intent is genuine, nothing prevents immediate implementation within the existing framework."
Demanding fair delimitation, he alleged there was complete opacity on the basis for delimitation and asked would the exercise rely on 1971 figures from a pre–population control era or the 2021 Census. "Conflicting signals and vague assurances only deepen suspicion." This move would also impose a massive financial burden on states, forcing them to expand or rebuild Legislative Assemblies, all without proper consultation.
"This is a direct assault on cooperative federalism. This is not reform, it is a unilateral, politically driven exercise designed to concentrate power, weaken Parliament, marginalise the South, and undermine social justice," he alleged. "The nation deserves answers: why this undue haste, why shift the goalposts, and who truly stands to benefit."
The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is systematically eroding the very foundations of Parliament, he alleged.
The Dravidian party chief claimed: "What should be a vibrant forum for debate and accountability is being reduced to a hollow ritual, a stage where members may not even get fair time to speak or represent their people. This proposal to increase seats is a direct contradiction of their own slogan of minimum government, maximum governance. It will only inflate expenditure, burden taxpayers, and dilute the quality of parliamentary functioning."
This also went against the spirit of Article 1 of the Constitution, which defines India as a Union of States. Ignoring the voices of states and bypassing meaningful consultation is not democratic - it is unitary overreach that undermines the country's federal and plural character.
More alarmingly, this exercise will blatantly skew representation and tilt the balance of power in favour of northern states dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party, while silencing the voice of south India, he claimed.
"As forcefully pointed out by veteran leader Siddaramaiah (Karnataka CM), this is not a neutral exercise; it is a calculated political restructuring. Northern states stand to gain nearly double the (Parliamentary) seats, while the South’s share stagnates at around 24 per cent. This is nothing short of penalising states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Keralam and Telangana for their success in population control."
Chief Ministers across the South, including Siddaramaiah, Pinarayi Vijayan and A Revanth Reddy have rightly warned that this move will distort federalism and concentrate power in a few regions, the DMK president alleged.
PM Modi said on Thursday that the proposed amendments to the Women Reservation Act are not just a legislative exercise but a reflection of the aspirations of crores of women across India and urged all MPs to come together to support this significant move.
He had last week announced an extension of the Budget session of Parliament by three days, from April 16 to 18, so that the Women's Reservation Act can be amended for its implementation from 2029.
