Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Parliament House on Tuesday, August 12. (Press Trust of India)
Dismissing contentions that the leadership of Rahul Gandhi has come under doubt amid an apparent tug of war within the party, Congress on Wednesday asserted that the Congress Vice President is the "leadership" for future and that partymen will work under him.
The remarks by party spokesperson Shobha Oza came amid an apparent tug of war within the party between some of the old guards and the new generation leadership of Congress, which appears poised to take over the reins of AICC affairs as part of the party's restructuring exercise after Lok Sabha debacle.
"Rahulji is our leader. The party will grow under his leadership and we will come back to power...There is no doubt about Rahul Gandhi's leadership. We will work under him and take the party forward," Ms Oza said at the AICC briefing.
Some young general secretaries have privately held meetings and discussed the remarks of some senior party leaders, which, they felt, appeared questioning the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
Ms Oza, however, feigned ignorance about such meetings and said,"I do not know about it. I am ignorant about the meeting. I will inquire about this meeting and will come back to you after getting information".
To questions about senior leaders raising doubt about the leadership of Gandhi, Ms Oza said,"nobody is doubting his leadership. There is no doubt about his leadership."
The party has already officially distanced itself from remarks of two senior general secretaries Janardan Dwivedi and Digvijay Singh regarding an age bar for leaders for taking up active posts and about Rahul Gandhi not communicating enough during the Lok Sabha polls.
Ms Oza also referred to the Antony Committee report to buttress the point that the reasons for the Lok Sabha poll debacle have already been discussed and arrived at.
While Digvijay Singh was frequently referred to in media as a guide of Rahul Gandhi, Dwivedi was one of the four members' team along with Rahul Gandhi, A K Antony and Ahmed Patel set up to look after the party affairs, when Sonia Gandhi had gone abroad for treatment for the first time in 2011.