Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is likely to replace Sonia Gandhi as the president of the Indian National Congress in October this year, former environment minister Jairam Ramesh told a news channel even as the Congress Working Committee (CWC), in a meeting held on Tuesday, June 6, decided to wrap up the internal elections by October 15, 2017.
"We are conscious of a need for a strong opposition alliance. 2019 is not a foregone conclusion. I'm not sure it will be a repeat of 2014. We expect Rahul Gandhi to take over this year," Ramesh told NDTV on Tuesday.
During the CWC meeting that was held on Tuesday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the party would elect its president soon, senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters at a press conference held after the meeting on Tuesday.
"In a few weeks, we will be electing the president and vice-president of our republic. In times such as these, it is even more essential that those who occupy this august office, protect the constitution. Dr Manmohan Singh, Rahul, other colleagues and I have met the leaders of like-minded parties to find commonly acceptable candidates for these high offices. A subgroup of representatives has been constituted to take this forward," she said during the meeting.
Modi government trying to extinguish the "essence and idea of India"
During the course of the CWC meeting, the party's performance in the recently-concluded assembly elections and bypolls was discussed and analysed. Sonia, who chaired the meeting, urged the committee to strengthen the party organisation and also complete the "'ongoing organisational elections... with utmost speed and sincerity."
Sonia also lashed out at the Narendra Modi-led government for trying to extinguish the "essence and idea of India". She said the Congress Party must be "ready" to protect this "essence and idea" in 2019. The situation in Kashmir and the growing intolerance in the country were also discussed.
"We are not far from the 2019 elections. We must be ready to protect the essence and idea of India, which this government is seeking to extinguish," she said adding that women, Dalits, adivasis, minorities and other oppressed sections are facing dangerous times. She further added that the country has seen a rise in lynch mobs and also alleged that a "close ideological affinity" existed between the mobs and the Centre.
"Divisive issues are being whipped up, and there is an assault on livelihoods and food habits of those who follow different tenets and beliefs. This government is using the power of the state to stifle voices that express different thoughts and ideas, or speak out for alternative policies and philosophies. Whether it is politicians, institutions, students, civil society or the media, there is growing intolerance and active persecution of divergent voices in blatant disregard of the law of the land," Sonia said.
Kashmir Issue
Sonia said that the situation in violence-hit Jammu and Kashmir represented the "colossal failure of this government".
"The insensitive handling of the situation by both the state and central governments are systematically alienating and antagonising the local population... A divisive agenda is being followed which has undone years of goodwill and progress," she said.
Manmohan Singh lashes out at Centre
During the meeting, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also lashed out at the central government for the country's slow economic growth post the demonetisation move of November 2016.
"India's GDP numbers for the fourth quarter and full year of 2016-17 were released a few days ago. lndia's economic growth has slowed down sharply, driven primarily by the note-bandi announcement of November 2016. Gross Value Added (GVA), a true sub-measure of economic activity, has also experienced a steep and sustained fall. Private sector investment has collapsed and the economy is running on just one engine of public spending," Singh told leaders at the CWC meeting.
"The most worrisome aspect of all this is the impact on job creation. Jobs have been extremely hard to come by for the youth of the nation. The construction industry which is one of the largest employment generators in the country has suffered a contraction. This implies losses of millions of jobs for the nation's workplace," he added.
Sonia also criticised the government's decision to demonetise high-value currency notes in 2016 saying the Centre's policies were characterised by poor planning and implementation.
"It isn't that the Reserve Bank of India has forgotten how to count money; it is that the actual numbers show that the scheme (demonetisation) was a disaster," the Congress president said.
Three years of Modi government
Sonia also spoke about the completion of three years of the Modi government. She said: "Make in India has failed to create jobs or attract investment. Unemployment is rampant. Farmers are in severe distress, forcing them to commit suicide. Manifesto promises that should have been fulfilled in 2019 are now being shifted to 2022."
She added, "Where there was harmony, there is discord. Where there was tolerance, there is provocation. Where there was relative calm, as in Kashmir, there is growing confrontation, tension and fear. Where there was economic potential, there is stagnation. Where there was rich diversity, there is a brazen campaign to straitjacket the whole country into a regressive and narrow-minded worldview."
