Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal appears to have decided to end the tussle with former party president Rahul Gandhi.
This became evident when Sibal withdrew his tweet against Rahul, just an hour after posting it.
Sibal, a staunch critic of Bharatiya Janata Party and the Narendra Modi-led government, took to twitter early on Monday apparently pained by Rahul Gandhi's criticism of Congress leaders who had demanded an overhaul of the party system.
Twenty-three senior Congress leaders, including Sibal, on Sunday asked party's interim chief Sonia Gandhi to change leadership and style of functioning. The demand was raised in a letter sent on Sunday, a day before the party's decision-making body, Central Working Committee (CWC), met in virtual space.
Rahul, while addressing the delegates on Monday, reportedly chided the senior leaders for making internal party issues public. He even went on to accuse them of colluding with the BJP.
Irked by the comments, an emotional Sibal tweeted immediately: "Rahul Gandhi says "we are colluding with BJP". Succeeded in Rajasthan High Court defending the Congress Party. Defending party in Manipur to bring down BJP Govt. Last 30 years have never made a statement in favour of BJP on any issue. Yet "we are colluding with the BJP"!
The tweet has given enough fodder to television channels that reported that tension has been brewing in Congress against Rahul.
But Sibal himself tried to douse rumour mongering after an hour with the decision to withdraw his tweet, apparently after getting an assurance from Rahul Gandhi himself.
“Was informed by Rahul Gandhi personally that he never said what was attributed to him. I therefore withdraw my tweet,” Sibal tweeted.
Congress denies media reports
Soon after Sibal's first tweet, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala denied media reports about Rahul's statement.
“Rahul Gandhi hasn’t said a word of this nature nor alluded to it. Please don’t be misled by false media discourse or misinformation being spread. But yes, we all need to work together in fighting the draconian Modi rule rather then fighting and hurting each other and the Congress,” he tweeted.
Rahul Gandhi reportedly criticised leaders for going public with issues concerning party, says it should have been discussed in the CWC and not media. He also questioned the timing of the letter saying it was sent at a time when Sonia was hospitalised.
The explosive letter spoke about "uncertainty" over the leadership and the "drift" in the party, which, it said has demoralised workers and weakened the party.
Signatories include Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Prithviraj Chavan, Vivek Tankha and Anand Sharma. The letter stressed that the Gandhis will always be an integral part of a "collective leadership".
