"The Congress was very strong under the stewardship of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. When Sonia Gandhi came in, people were very excited. But today's leadership is responsible for the current situation in the party. The Congress has always had 50 percent experienced leaders and 50 percent young leaders. Today, all the senior leaders have been kicked out. Is there any substitute for experience? There is no respect for us senior leadership.
Congress leader Hansraj Bhardwaj on Thursday tore into his party, accusing certain members of bringing about its downfall through extended bouts of corruption, while adding that senior members have been kicked out of the party.
"When the Congress was in power, 10 Janpath Road had no role to play in Cabinet meets. It was a closed door meeting. Only ministers participated and there was full freedom to speak one's mind. Those days, laws were being passed without even a discussion," Bhardwaj said.
"Manmohan Singh is an honest man. The court has issued summons to him, and he has gone because he believes in the rule of law. But imagine how much waywardness has been present for even him to be summoned. Rajiv Gandhi was an innocent. These corrupt people had pitted him against VP Singh. His friends abandoned him, but we never left his side even after he died," he added.
Taking the example of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Bhardwaj said that senior leaders today have been told to stay away.
"The Congress was very strong under the stewardship of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. When Sonia Gandhi came in, people were very excited. But today's leadership is responsible for the current situation in the party. The Congress has always had 50 percent experienced leaders and 50 percent young leaders. Today, all the senior leaders have been kicked out. Is there any substitute for experience? There is no respect for us senior leadership.
Senior leaders like Sheila Dikshit have been sent home. She did so much for Delhi but now she has been asked to take a step back. In Haryana, all the senior leaders have left. Will it not have an impact? Today, the Congress has no workers left. If Sonia Gandhi wants the good of the party, then she should invite more people to work for the party. However, she is not responsible for the current state of affairs.
The former Karnataka governor further stated that even Rahul Gandhi or Robert Vadra were not at fault for the current predicament of the party.
"You blame Rahul Gandhi, but he is not even part of the market. You think he is responsible for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, but being communal or secular at ones will is not the way, hard work needs to be put in to revive Congress," he said.
"Nor is Vadra at fault – if he is corrupt, then why don't people investigate against him? Not bringing in Priyanka Gandhi into politics is another reason why people are not happy," he added.
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