The Congress has further deferred the process to elect its new president in view of the COVID-19 situation even as party chief Sonia Gandhi today announced that she would set up a fact-finding committee to go into the various aspects of the party's failures in the recent Assembly elections.
The Congress Working Committee at its meeting today unanimously resolved to defer the election to the post of party president temporarily in view of the COVID-19 situation. “In view of the nationwide emergent conditions prevailing on account of unprecedented Corona pandemic, the CWC was unanimous that all our energies should be channelised towards saving every life and helping every COVID affected person,” stated a resolution passed by the CWC.
The CWC, at its meeting held on January 22, decided that the process to elect the new party president would be put off till the end of the Assembly elections, but be completed by end-June. The issue has been hanging fire since Rahul Gandhi stepped down as party chief following the party's disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Sonia Gandhi has been holding fort since August 2019 as interim president of the party.
Asked if the deferment is open-ended, AICC General Secretary Randeep Surjewala, who is in-charge of Communications for the party, said the postponement cannot be open-ended, and it is expected to be for two to three months, till the situation stabilises and people can come out and take part in elections.
Rahul, meanwhile, did not attend the meeting. When asked about this, Surjewala said he could not attend the meet as he has not fully recovered from COVID-19. “He is stable and recovering. But he was not fully fit to attend the meeting,” he said.
The CWC, held in the backdrop of the party's disappointing performance in the recently held Assembly elections, also discussed the electoral outcomes. The party president, at the very outset, said in her opening remarks that a small group of leaders will be set up to look at every aspect of the setback the party faced in the state polls, especially its inability to win back Assam and Kerala and its failure to win a single seat in West Bengal.
“I intend to set up a small group to look at every aspect that caused such reverses and report back very quickly. We need to candidly understand why in Kerala and Assam we failed to dislodge the incumbent governments, and why in West Bengal we drew a complete blank,” she said.
The Congress chief said the exercise will yield uncomfortable lessons, adding, “but if we do not face up to the reality, if we do not look the facts in the face, we will not draw the right lessons.”
The fact-finding committee was expected to be announced within 48 hours, and it would hold discussions not just with leaders of the state units, but also with candidates, party workers and representatives of various organisational departments. Its report will be taken up for discussion by the CWC.
The CWC passed another resolution with regard to the COVID-19 situation, saying the second wave of the pandemic is nothing short of a grave calamity and a direct consequence of the Modi government’s indifference, insensitivity and incompetence. “It is the direct result of the central government’s wilful disregard of scientific advice, its premature declaration of victory over the pandemic, and its unwillingness and inability to plan in advance in spite of warnings sounded not only by public health experts but also by the Standing Committee of Parliament concerned,” the CWC said.
