Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said that people don’t see Congress as an ‘effective alternative’ and the problems faced by the party are not being addressed by the leadership of the party. Kapil Sibal is one of the 23 Congress leaders who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi for a reform with the party system. Former Union Minister was speaking against the backdrop of the party’s poor performance in Bihar elections.
Sibal told the Indian Express that the Congress knows the problems which it is facing and its solution but the party is not willing to recognize the issues and as a consequence, not coming across answers.
He said that some of them wrote a letter expressing what should be done. But in place of listening to them, the party turned their back on them. “Not only people of Bihar but of the whole nation wherever by-elections are being organized are not considering the Congress to be an effective alternative” he said.
Sibal said that the time for introspection is over and “we know what is wrong within the party. We know what is wrong and we know the answers. But if we are not willing to recognize those answers then the party will decline continuously. The Congress should act brave and recognize them”.
He said that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) should adopt democratic process which otherwise is a nominated body. CWC is the highest policy making body of the party.
Focusing on the recent by-polls, he said that the Congress has lost all eight by-elections in Gujarat and in which three candidates lost their deposits. In Uttar Pradesh by-elections, Congress candidates got even less than 2% of the total votes cast. Even in Madhya Pradesh where was a Congress CM recently, the party under performed.
Sibal said that he doesn’t know if this has alarmed the party leadership. Congress leadership is yet to announce their views on their recent performance in Bihar elections and bypolls.
He said that there is no dialogue by the leadership to him. He is pushed to express his views publicly as there is no forum within the party to express views.
