Veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today joined the legion of dissenters in the party with his sharp criticism of the leadership.
The tradition of debate and dialogue has ended in the party, Mr Shinde said at a public function in Pune. The party needed fixes, he said, without mincing words.
"The Congress tradition of holding sessions on debates and dialogue has ended today. I feel sad about it. Introspection meetings are required. Our policies may be wrong, but to correct them, such sessions are needed," said the Congress leader.
Mr Shinde is a senior leader of the Congress in Maharashtra, a former Chief Minister, and also a Governor. His public critique of his party drew a reaction from the Congress's Maharashtra ally Shiv Sena, which has lately been upset about a Congress leader's pronouncements about contesting the next state election separately.
"Now if Mr Shinde is saying this then there should be introspection on this," said Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.
"Mr Shinde is one of the Congress's oldest soldiers and he has struggled a lot for the party. If he is expressing his pain, then his party should give it some thought. We are outsiders but we want the Congress party to stay," the Sena Rajya Sabha member said.
Mr Shinde is the latest to take swipes at his bosses at a time the Congress has seen the exit of a high-profile leader, Jitin Prasada.
Jitin Prasada was among the 23 senior Congress leaders who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi last August calling for sweeping changes in the organization, collective decision-making and "visible" leadership. Others on the "G-23" are Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma.
"Will Retire From Politics If...": Siddaramaiah On PM Modi's Remarks From Auto Rickshaw Driver To Maharashtra Chief Minister: The Eknath Shinde Story Karnataka Forms Special Team To Probe 'Covid Scam' During BJP Rule "We Ran Out Of Missiles": US Fighter Pilots Recall Iran's Attack On Israel Meitei Group Issues 24-Hour Ultimatum After Mob Attacks Biren Singh's House 10-Crore Lawsuit Over 3-Second Clip? What's Behind Nayanthara-Dhanush Spat RBI Customer Care Gets Bomb Threat, Caller Claims To Be "Lashkar CEO" World's Longest Experiment Running For 100 Years Could Go On For Another Century Trump's Defence Pick Faces Scrutiny Over Thin CV, Medieval-Themed Tattoos Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.