Ghulam Nabi Azad in an emotional response also offered to resign as he defended the letter at the meeting
The 23 dissenters of the Congress whose explosive letter unleashed a huge controversy, had said they wanted a discussion on the issue they had flagged, the biggest of which was a change in leadership. Instead, the seven-hour internal meeting of the party today turned into a charged session, where they were indicted by the Gandhi family loyalists who made it clear that they will not brook any dissent.
The charge was led by Rahul Gandhi, who questioned why the letter was sent when the Congress was at its weakest, battling crises in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and its chief, Sonia Gandhi, was unwell.
Amid the flurry of accusations, the dissenters found themselves denying any complicity with the BJP after senior leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's remarks.
Party veterans like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik -- dissenters who have been with the Congress for decades -- reportedly responded strongly, saying they were Nehruvians who fought the BJP all their lives.
"You can disagree with the issues, but not doubt (our) intent in any way," Mukul Wasnik reportedly said. "Punish us now if you want but we will remain loyal to the party," was the refrain.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, who has been with the Congress since 1973, recalled the years when he worked with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi.
The 71-year-old -- one of the few signatories who are also part of the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party -- had read out part of the letter at the meeting, and was targeted by a number of leaders. In an emotional response, Mr Azad had offered to resign as he defended the letter.
After the meeting, Mr Azad told NDTV that they were satisfied with outcome of meet and had answered Rahul Gandhi's question about the timing of the letter. The plan to have a permanent president after six months, during which Mrs Gandhi will continue as the interim president, "will end ad-hocism (of leadership)," he said.
The letter, he said, was sent after checking twice with Mrs Gandhi's private secretary. They were told that she was in hospital for a "routine check up" but still waited till she was back home before sending the letter, he added.
"Our letter was to raise issues like the revival of the Congress. Why the party is not doing well in the Hindi Heartland... none of us criticised Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi," Anand Sharma, who along with others, had signed the letter sent on August 7, reportedly said.
In the letter, the leaders had flagged the need to revive the party, pointing to the decisive support of young people for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
But in what was read as questioning the leadership of the Gandhis, they had also sent a list suggesting sweeping reforms that included a "full-time, visible" leadership, introspection and election of the party's office bearers at every level.
At the CWC meeting, it was decided that Sonia Gandhi will continue and a session of the All India Congress Committee will be called within six months to launch the search for a new chief.
Several Congress leaders suggested that Rahul Gandhi could return to the post that he quit last year after the Congress's suffered its second consecutive defeat in the general elections.
In her closing remarks, Sonia Gandhi reportedly said that she held "no ill-will" towards the dissenters who wrote the letter.
"I am hurt but they are my colleagues, bygones are bygones, let us work together," she reportedly said.