Shashi Tharoor on Sonia Gandhi completing 1 year as Cong interim chief: 'Unfair' for her to carry this burden indefinitely

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that he welcomed Sonia Gandhi's re-appointment as interim president but said that it is unfair for her to 'carry the burden' of the party.

As Sonia Gandhi's tenure as Congress interim president matured on Monday, party MP Shashi Tharoor said that he had welcomed her appointment as interim president last year, but it is "unfair to her" to expect her to carry this burden.

"We should be clear about our leadership going forward. I welcomed Sonia Ji's appointment as interim president last year. But I do believe it is unfair to her to expect her to carry this burden indefinitely," Tharoor told ANI on being asked about the completion of one-year of Sonia's tenure as party's interim president.

"If Rahul Gandhi is ready to resume the leadership, he only has to withdraw his resignation. I think party workers, Congress Working Committee (CWC) and everyone will accept that because he was the incumbent President elected in December 2017," he said.

Tharoor asserted if Rahul Gandhi was not willing to come back then the party members like to have a clear cut decision as soon as possible.

"If he (Rahul Gandhi) says no I do not want to come back, then the question that many of the party members are asking - How long can we carry on like this?" - that is the question. We would ideally like a clear cut decision as soon as possible," he said.

The Congress on Sunday said that Sonia Gandhi will continue to remain as the party's interim president beyond August 10 and will continue to occupy the post till the procedure to elect a new president is completed.

"Sonia Gandhi Ji is the president, she will continue till such time as a proper procedure is implemented and it will be implemented in the not too distant future," Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters at a press conference held through video conferencing today.

The senior leader said that "This is very clear that neither politics nor political parties permit or tolerate a vacuum. Just like nature abhors a vacuum, political parties cannot function in a vacuum. It is true that the tenure is expiring tomorrow. There is a laid down procedure in the party constitution for elections. As you know, it goes through the CWC etc."

As Sachin pilot has called truce with Congress to end the political turmoil in Rajasthan, Tharoor said, "Whatever Sachin's frustrations were, at no stage, he was against the party and against the values and principles and national leaders of the party. He talked about his specific issue within the state. In all fairness, his was a specific problem in a specific set of circumstances and not a denunciation of the congress party. So congress has every reason to keep its brightest talent within it."

Stressing that reconciliation is the best way forward, he said: "I would agree that reconciliation is the best way forward. People can have legitimate ambition for positions but at the end of the day why we are in politics in order to change the country for the better. What we are seeing in the country under the BJP rule is something that the Congress must resist."

"Yes, we may have frustrations within the party but to my mind, those frustrations could be dealt with and in the cases of Rajasthan if there is a win-win situation for everybody then all of us would be happy," he added.

-ANI

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