Cong V Cong: Salman Khurshid accuses G-23 of 'moving their goalposts' in an open letter

Hitting back at the G-23, Congress veteran Salman Khurshid on Wednesday, wrote an open letter to the dissenting leaders accusing them of 'moving their goalposts'. Sharing an opinion piece written by him on NDTV, Khurshid claimed that the G-23 had 'made their point and were suitably informed that party elections will be held when appropriate'. Calling their public rallies as 'display of disquiet' in Jammu and next in Haryana, he added that 'communal forces' had forced Congress' heroes to 'accept' their mistakes because of the public mood. Congress has been split between those supporting the Gandhis' leadership and the G-23 who seek 'transparent elections' to the CWC.

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Salman Khurshid pens open letter to G-23

In his letter, he claims Congress had shied away 'from speaking about minorities and put on a public display of identifying with the cultural symbols of the majority that have largely been appropriated by the BJP'. Asking the G-23 if it was fair to 'kick the very ladder you have climbed to the top storey of life', Khurshid gave them two choices - 'count our blessings our party has given us' or 'whine about what we did not receive'. Likening the names of national martyrs being engraved on India Gate to the names of members in embossed in Congress office, he concluded 'For most of us, that is enough recognition'.

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Anand Sharma Vs Adhir Ranjan

Commenting on the Congress' alliance with the Left and ISF in Bengal, Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma vociferously opposed the alliance stating that Congress cannot be selective in fighting communalists. Terming the endorsement of WB Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to the ISF tie-up as "shameful", Sharma asked him to issue a clarification. Reacting to Sharma's outburst, Chowdhury stated that this decision had been approved by the Congress high command. Recently, Sharma who is part of the G-23 had held a 3-day tour in Jammu along with Ghulam Nabi Azad, Manish Tewari, Anand Sharma, Vivek Tankha,  Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Raj Babbar, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kapil Sibal, where they asserted 'Congress has weakened in the past decade'. They are reportedly set to hold rallies in Haryana next. 

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G-23's defiance

The G-23 is a group of 23 senior leaders who sought 'structural changes', internal election to the CWC even at state levels, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism, full-time leadership at the helm at the party. After a stormy CWC meeting, Congress quashed their dissent retaining  Sonia Gandhi as party chief and passed a resolution strengthening the Gandhis' leadership and not allowing anyone to undermine the party or the Gandhis (Rahul and Sonia). Later, the CWC agreed to elect a new chief by June 2021, after polls in five states, with most Congress leaders rallying around Rahul Gandhi and the G-23 demanding a 'transparent election'. The 23 signatories include Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Rajender Kaur Bhattal, M. Veerappa Moily, Prithviraj Chavan, P.J. Kurian, Ajay Singh, Renuka Chaudhary, and Milind Deora -  belonging from the Congress' 'old guard ' and the 'young guard' (i.e Rahul Gandhi supporters).

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