Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday urged interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi to convince Rahul Gandhi to take up the party's top post if her health does not permit for full-fledged dedication.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly requested Sonia Gandi to continue as AICC president.
"And if you feel that your health may not permit for full-fledged dedication, I urge you to convince Shri Rahul Gandhi to take up the position," Siddaramaiah said in a letter to Sonia Gandhi.
The party is divided on the leadership matter with a section demanding collective leadership and another reposing faith in the Gandhi family.
Around 20 party leaders had written to Sonia Gandhi demanding a full-time, visible president and overhauling of the organisational structure including elections to the CWC and reconstitution of the Parliamentary board.
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Mumbai (PTI): Under fire over her association with rape-accused 'godman' Ashok Kharat, NCP leader Rupali Chakankar on Friday resigned as the party's Maharashtra women's wing chief.
"Following a discussion over the phone with (NCP president and deputy Chief Minister) Sunetra Pawar this morning, I am tendering my resignation as state president of the Nationalist Congress Party's women's wing," she said in a post on X.
Earlier, Chakankar had stepped down as chairman of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women after her links with Kharat came to light.
In the letter shared on the social media platform, Chakankar said that she had clarified her stand on the Kharat case on the very first day, asserting that she had no direct or indirect connection with his financial dealings or alleged wrongdoings.
Her stand remains clear and firm, and the truth would emerge in the course of investigation, Chakankar added.
The allegations being levelled against her in the media without any evidence are "painful" but the truth would ultimately prevail, she said.
Kharat, who headed a temple trust at Mirgaon in Nashik district, was arrested on March 18 after a woman accused him of raping her repeatedly over three years. A total of eight FIRs have been registered against him since then.
Chakankar was a member of the temple trust.

