Sonia Gandhi To Remain Congress Chief: Key Takeaways From CWC Meet

“We are a large family, we have differences... but in the end, we come together as one,” Sonia Gandhi said.

Sonia Gandhi will continue as Congress' interim chief for now, reports citing sources said, as a fiery Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting was held on Monday, 24 August, in the aftermath of a letter written by senior party functionaries, calling for a change in leadership.

After the seven-hour long meet, the party said that CWC has unanimously requested Sonia to continue as interim chief till the time an AICC (All India Congress Committee) session can be convened.

The next AICC session is expected to set in motion the process of selecting a new party president.

Here are the key developments from today:

What Congress Said After the CWC Meet

• After the CWC meet, the Congress said its top decision-making body has unanimously resolved to strengthen the hands of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and has made it clear that no one will permitted to undermine the party and its leadership, reported PTI.
• Sonia has been authorised to effect necessary organisational changes to deal with the challenges facing the party, the resolution reportedly said.
• "The CWC notes that internal party issues cannot be deliberated through the media or public fora. CWC urges and advises all concerned to raise such issues only in party fora," party leader KC Venugopal said in a briefing after the meeting.
• Congress leader Randeep Surjewala quoted Sonia from her concluding remarks at the meet, saying, "We are a large family, we have differences on many occasions, but in the end, we come together as one. The need of the hour is to fight for the cause of the people and (against) forces that are failing this country."
• "Organisational issues are always addressed and process of constitution and reconstitution is a continuous one," she further said, adding that she doesn't hold any ill-will against any colleague as she treats them as part of the family.

Catch all the updates on the Congress leadership row here.

What Happened During the Day

• Earlier in the day, Rahul had reportedly slammed the letter criticising the Congress leadership, saying that the note "seeking sweeping changes" was written at a time when the party was fighting the BJP in MP and Rajasthan.
• A row also erupted over remarks being attributed to Rahul alleging that the signatories of the letter “colluded” with the BJP. The Congress denied that he made any such remarks.
• Kapil Sibal, who earlier attributed the 'colluding with BJP' remark to Rahul, later deleted his tweet after being “informed by Gandhi that he never said what was attributed to him”
• Initially in the meeting, Sonia Gandhi had asked the party to start the process to find the next president
• The whole controversy over party leadership started when 23 Congress leaders, including former Union ministers and chief ministers, wrote to Sonia, raising critical questions about the party and demanding sweeping changes.
• Signatories of the letter to Sonia had said that they have full faith in her leadership, and that of Rahul’s, and that their concerns were for the betterment of the organisation, ANI had reported, citing sources.