Congress may weaken if Sonia Gandhi quits: Anil Shastri

Congress party may weaken if president Sonia Gandhi quits, senior party leader Anil Shastri said on Friday coming to the defence of the party leadership which has been under attack from within after the debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.

Shastri asserted that despite unprecedented drubbing in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the party should be headed by Sonia and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

The party is united for them (Sonia and Rahul Gandhi). It may weaken if Sonia resigns, Shastri, a former Union minister, told reporters here during his visit to the city.

The party should come out of distress and our leaders should go among masses in order to emerge as a strong option, he said.

On the defeat, he noted that it was due to some mistakes committed by the UPA government and the campaigning of BJP.

BJP created a wave in its favour during the elections through a misleading slogan, he said.

In Rajasthan, he said party leaders should play effective and strong role as Opposition against the anti-people policies of the Vasundhara Raje government.