At the heart of the uproar witnessed during the Congress Working Committee’s 8-hour long marathon session on Monday lies a dissent letter which was shot to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi on August 7. The said letter, signed by some of the senior most leaders of the Congress who have for the longest time remained loyal to the Gandhis was also leaked to the media. The letter of dissent called upon the party to undertake a radical change in leadership, such that the person heading the party do so in an efficient way, with its effects being visible on the ground. Some of those who have signed the said letter include party stalwarts like Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Shashi Tharoor, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tiwari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda among others.
It has now been reported by Hindustan Times that the idea of sending a letter to Sonia Gandhi had, in fact, ‘germinated’ at a dinner hosted by Thiruvananthapuram MP and senior Congress leader – Shashi Tharoor. Invited to the said dinner, approximately five months ago, were all the senior Congress leaders, particularly those whose signatures have landed on the letter of dissent. Apart from them, some other leaders of the party were invited to the dinner too, and reportedly took part in a constructive discussion to revive the Congress by reforming it,
Those who were a part of the dinner hosted by Shashi Tharoor, but whose signatures did not ultimately feature in the letter sent to Sonia Gandhi, include: former Union minister P Chidambaram, his son Karti Chidambaram, Sachin Pilot, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Mani Shankar Iyer. While speaking to HT, Singhvi said, “I was invited to the dinner by Shashi Tharoor at a day’s notice. There was an informal discussion on the constructive issue of reforms within the party. Subsequently, I was not informed about the formulation of the letter, at any stage.” Mani Shankar Iyer said that he too was not approached subsequently to be a part of the team which signed the letter of dissent.
Essentially, Shashi Tharoor spearheaded the campaign to call for constructive and also radical change in the leadership of the party. Deliberations to voice collective dissent by senior most leaders of the party were on for quite some time now, and Shashi Tharoor is to be attributed with initiating the rightful challenging of the Grand Old Family – the Gandhis, perhaps in a way they have never been challenged before. For him to bring under one umbrella the senior most leaders of the party, who for so long have been loyal to the Gandhis no less, speaks of the massive anti-family sentiment which is prevalent in the party.
TFI had earlier reported how Shashi Tharoor might be eyeing the top-post for himself. Tharoor had said that he certainly thinks Rahul Gandhi has the “mettle, capability and aptitude to once again lead the party”, but if he does not wish to do so then the party must “take action” to elect a new chief. He has also been at the forefront of calling for reforms within the party. As such, the main challenge which the Gandhis face today, and the large-scale revolt against their leadership is courtesy one man – Shashi Tharoor.