New Delhi : Taking a dig at the party high command over the crushing defeat in the recent assembly elections in Kerala, Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi on Monday sparked off a row by saying that the party does not need cosmetic surgery but ‘cardiac surgery’ if it nurtures hopes of delivering electoral wins in the future.
“This is clear that an introspection is needed at district, state and national level. I also said this long back in the media, people are saying this now. Some people are talking about surgery. I agree this surgery should have be done two years ago, but not cosmetic surgery, because, the party needs cardiac surgery,” Chaturvedi told ANI here.
“We have to rethink about the people because of whom the party had to face defeat. We should inculcate such leaders in the party who can motivate party workers, strengthen the party and enthrall the electorates to bring the party back,” he added.
Chaturvedi further said that the party needs to change its character if they want to take benefit from the BJP’s losses.
In a veiled attack on Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, Chaturvedi has said that people who are talking about surgery are the ones who are actually responsible for this condition of the party.
“Those who are taking about surgery should introspect. It is because of them that the party is facing this. Now they are scared, and that is why, they are talking about surgery, and thinking that this will help them get out of their present situation,” he added.
Senior Congress leaders have voiced concerns over the state of affairs in the party.
Party leader Digvijaya Singh called for “major surgery” in the party that suffered major setback in assembly polls, another party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi had yesterday suggested that new plans should include revamping the Congress Working Committee itself.
Meanwhile, Union Mines and Steel Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said the grand old party has gradually become irrelevant to the nation and will be wiped out in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as well.
“The Congress lost its relevance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. And the manner in which the nation is moving ahead on the development path under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Congress will be wiped out in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” Tomar said in an exclusive interview to ETV News head Jagdeesh Chandra.
The Congress, which has been making all attempts to revive its lost glory, failed to build a connection with the people during the recent assembly polls as they failed to impress yet again.
Always under fire over question of its leadership, the Congress, however, had some reasons to cheer as they won 15 out of the 30 seats up for grabs in Puducherry.
The grand old party finished second in West Bengal with 44 seats – 11 seats above the combined strength of the Left.
However, the party ended up with just 26 seats in Assam, feeling the sting of an anti-incumbency wave and a popular desire for change.
In Tamil Nadu, the Congress won eight seats this time against five in the 2011 polls. (ANI)