Following a slew of resignations from the Congress party, interim chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday took a dig at the leaders who quit the party. Sonia Gandhi lashed out the leaders who resigned from the party, saying that they have revealed "their opportunistic character". She made the remarks in her opening statement a meeting of party general secretaries, state unit chiefs and Congress legislature party leaders on Thursday.

"Some of our party colleagues have left us in recent times. All I can say is that they have revealed their opportunistic character," Sonia Gandhi said.

READ | Congress suffers another Maharashtra blow as Kripashankar Singh quits

Her remarks have come in the light of the multiple resignations, including Urmila Matondkar from Congress party following the massive defeat in the April-May 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Speaking in the matter, Sonia Gandhi said the party faces challenges and it will become clear who were devoted to Congress ideology and those who looked at the party for their self-advancement, as per news agency ANI. Trying to empower her party leaders, Sonia Gandhi asserted that the resilience of party workers will be under severe test in the upcoming electoral battles but their self-confidence should not falter.

"Our resolve and resilience are under severe test. We cannot afford to let our self-confidence and morale falter. This is the time when it will become clear, as to who are those steadfastly devoted to the Congress as an ideology, for strengthening the nation, and those who look to the Congress only as an opportunity for self-advancement," the interim chief added. 

READ | Congress slams Urmila Matondkar for quitting, calls her 'business-minded'

Congress faces mass resignations

Congress has been facing massive setback with an array of leaders quitting the party. Recently, actor-turned-politician politician Urmila Matondkar and former minister Kripashankar Singh put down their resignations from Maharashtra, along with former Maharashtra ministers Harshavardhan Patil and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil who joined the BJP. In Goa, 10 Congress leaders joined the BJP earlier. The Congress party suffered major defeat in 2019 Lok Sabha elections at the hands of BJP party. Following the defeat, Rahul Gandhi also resigned as the Congress president, following which Sonia Gandhi was appointed as the interim chief. 

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(With ANI inputs)