'Congress shouldn't have a puppet President': Prithviraj Chavan backs Ghulam Nabi Azad

Backing many allegations levelled by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Prithviraj Chavan contended that there should be a collective decision-making process in Congress. Currently an MLA from Karad South, he has been a member of both Houses of Parliament, served as the Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office from 2004 to 2010 and was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2010 to 2014. Addressing a press briefing on Friday, the senior Congress leader took a veiled swipe at the Gandhis by stressing that a "puppet president" mustn't be appointed. 

Prithviraj Chavan remarked, "If the Congress Working Committee comprises only sycophants, no decision can be taken. The Congress president won't get the correct advice. There should be introspection on his allegations. There should be an effort to correct mistakes if there are any. Nothing will be achieved by engaging in a war of words. Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the party, he was a senior leader. More than that, he was a secular face of Congress. He was a senior minority leader. He was known across the country. It is very sad that such a colleague has quit the party."

"There should be a collective decision-making process. Congress leaders across the country must participate in it. Unfortunately, the allegation is that this party is controlled by 4 persons in Lutyens Delhi. I won't comment on that. But our demand was that elections should take place in Congress as per the Constitution. It is told that the president's election will be held but the dates are postponed. But it will be of no use to install a puppet president. He should be a real president elected by the Congress cadre. There should be an elected Parliamentary Board, Working Committee and Election Committee," he added. 

Congress jolted by Ghulam Nabi Azad's exit

In his 5-page resignation letter sent to Sonia Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad opined that the entire consultative mechanism was demolished by Rahul Gandhi when he took over as Congress vice president in 2013. He lamented that all senior and experienced leaders were sidelined and a new coterie of inexperienced sycophants started running the affairs of the party. To highlight the Wayanad MP's "immaturity" and "childish behaviour," he recalled the tearing up of a UPA ordinance in the full glare of media by Rahul Gandhi."

Pointing out the electoral downslide of Congress, Azad contended that the situation worsened after the 2019 Lok Sabha election when Sonia Gandhi took over as the interim president of the party. He asserted, "Worse still the 'remote control model' that demolished the institutional integrity of the UPA government now applied to the Indian National Congress. While you are just a nominal figurehead, all the important decisions are being taken by Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and PAs." Dubbing the organizational election a "sham", he claimed that a proxy is being propped up to take charge of the party.