Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday, a day after the latter attended a meeting of the party's 'G-23' rebels.
This is the first time a G-23 leader met with one of the Gandhis after Wednesday's meeting in which the group called for "collective, inclusive leadership."
The developments come after the grand old party's humiliating defeat in Assembly elections in five states. However, according to reports, Hooda had met Rahul Gandhi regarding a personal grievance.
NDTV citing sources said that the leader has been upset that Congress did not make him or his son Deepinder Hooda the Haryana state chief.
Infighting has also plagued the party's Haryana unit with state Congress chief Selja Kumari and Bhupinder Hooda being at loggerheads.
Notably, Hooda who managed to give BJP a tough fight in the 2019 Haryana polls is a newcomer to the G-23.
Gandhi family loyalist Mani Shankar Aiyar and actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar were also among the rebel group's new entrants.
Shashi Tharoor who has maintained a distance from the group despite being one of the signatories to an explosive letter the group sent to Sonia Gandhi in 2020, also attended the meet.
Also read: Has the G-23 become G-46? New faces indicate a growing dissent within the Congress
Push for a non-Gandhi Congress chief?
The G-23 meet came a day after Congress Working Committee met to deliberate on the party's rout in the recent elections.
According to reports, the CWC rejected the resignations of Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
Notably, it was decided that Sonia Gandhi will continue as the Congress chief. State congress chiefs of Punjab, Manipur, Goa, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh were asked to resign after the meeting.
Veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad who hosted G-23 leaders was present at the meet. Despite taking a stand critical of the party, none of the G-23 leaders have directly challenged the Gandhi leadership.
However, the group's statement hinted at forming alliances with other Opposition parties.
It said, "In order to oppose the BJP it is necessary to strengthen the Congress Party. We demand the Congress party initiate dialogue with other like-minded forces to create a platform to pave the way for a credible alternative for 2024."
Sibal shunned for criticising Gandhis
According to NDTV, the G-23 leaders were supposed to meet at Kapil Sibal's home but the venue was changed after the former Union minister slammed the Gandhis in an interview with The Indian Express.
Referring to the Gandhis, Sibal said "I want a Sab ki Congress. Some others want a Ghar ki Congress."
Though Sibal attended the G-23 meet, the comments did not go down very well with his party colleagues who accused him of speaking "the language of BJP-RSS."
The Congress' Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore said "Why the RSS and BJP want Nehru-Gandhi's out of the leadership? Because without Gandhi's leadership Congress will become Janata party. It's easy to kill Congress then it's easy to destroy the idea of India. Kapil Sibal knows it but why he is speaking the language of RSS/BJP."
With inputs from agencies
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March 17, 2022 at 03:43PM
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