A few days after senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad hit out at the party leaders over "five-star culture" and claimed that the party has lost connection on the ground, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said issues within the party should not be taken out on public.
He said if anyone wants to leave the party, they can do so, but as long as they are in the party, such matters should be discussed internally.
According to news agency ANI, Singh sought to know who says there is no democracy in the Congress. "Issues shouldn't be taken out on public platform, if you're congressman. If you want to leave Congress then do so and talk about such things. But if you're in party, such matters have to be raised internally," he was quoted as saying.
Further, he said Sonia Gandhi will remain as the party president till she wants and added that the party working committee will decide if she decides to give up the post. "Sonia Gandhi Ji is the party president and will remain so till she wants to leave. After which, she and the working committee will decide over it. Where is the need for change," he said.
Earlier, Singh had opposed the bid by some Congress leaders to challenge the Gandhi family leadership in the party, saying this is not the time to raise such an issue. In a statement, Singh said the need today is for a strong opposition against the BJP-led NDA which is out to destroy the country’s constitutional ethos and democratic principles. “What the Congress needs is a leadership that is acceptable not just to a few but to the entire party, through its rank and file, and the nation at large,” he had then said.
(With PTI inputs)
