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Tag: Salman Khurshid

  • ‘Priyanka has turned Lakhimpur into a national issue’: Salman Khurshid hails Congress General Secretary

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said that the Congress party is being seen as opposition in Uttar Pradesh and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had turned the Lakhimpur Kheri incident into a national issue.

    “In Uttar Pradesh, Congress is being seen as the opposition. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has turned the Lakhimpur Kheri incident into a national issue, which is not only limited to the farmers only, but also to the insensitivity of the government and conduct, investigation of the state police,” Khurshid told ANI.

    Khurshid said that the Uttar Pradesh Congress unit and the Congress party as a whole stands in solidarity with Priyanka Gandhi.

    “Further work will be carried out as per her wishes and instructions,” he added.

    Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Varda and 11 others for “disturbing peace” in the state. The state government on Wednesday gave permission to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

    On Priyanka Gandhi’s detention, Khurshid said, “The detention was ridiculous and sad. It was a gross violation of rule of law. She was detained under Section 144 even if there were two people. It must be told in writing as to why is one arrested but she was not told. Till yet I cannot understand the intentions of the police. Charges filed against her are bailable and she can not be detained like that.”

    Congress delegation including Rahul Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met the kin of deceased farmer Lovpreet Singh in Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. The delegation also included Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and party general secretary KC Venugopal.

    Khurshid also remarked that the Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief Mayawati should have had joined forces with Priyanka Gandhi on the Lakhimpuri incident since their views on the events are also similar to that of Priyanka Gandhi.

    Drawing comparisons between the Lakhimpuri incident and Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, he said, “Though such historical events must be kept aside, the brutality witnessed during the Lakhimpuri incident is similar to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.”

    Khurshid said that Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni should resign and his son should also get arrested.

    Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of several farmer unions, alleged that Ashish Mishra Teni, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni arrived with three vehicles around the time that farmers were dispersing from their protest at the helipad and mowed down farmers and towards the end also attacked SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk directly, by trying to run a vehicle over him.

    However, Ashish Mishra refuted SKM’s allegations and said he was not present at the spot where the incident took place.

    As many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday, said Uttar Pradesh police.

    MoS Teni also said that his son was not present at the spot, adding that some miscreants mingled with protesting farmers and pelted the stones at the car which lead to the ‘unfortunate incident’.

  • Congress will contest UP polls under Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s leadership: Salman Khurshid

    By ANI

    AGRA: Congress leader and former Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday said that the party will contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections under the leadership of party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

    Khurshid said that Congress will not form an alliance with any political party for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. However, he added, “Gathbandhan is done by heart. If anyone wants to join our party, they are welcomed.”

    The leader, asked about the Chief Minister’s face in UP polls, he said, “We will be fighting the upcoming Assembly elections under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. She is working hard to ensure that we win. Later on, she may announce the CM’s face.”

    ​ALSO READ | UP polls: AIMIM offers party ticket to gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari

    Speaking about the Congress manifesto for the upcoming elections, he said, “We are interacting with the common people. We have made a proper strategy for this. The manifesto will have the voice of the common people. The main focus will be on the farmers, security of women. We have met the people of Agra today and have discussed their issues.”

    “Manifesto will also focus on the health sector as the nation has a weak health system, the truth was revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to strengthen the health and education sector too,” he said.

    Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are scheduled to take place early next year.

    In the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP won a landslide victory winning 312 Assembly seats. The party secured a 39.67 per cent vote share in the elections for 403-member Assembly. Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, BSP won 19 while Congress could manage to win only seven seats. Congress was left red-faced as it failed miserably.

  • Party that gets 120-130 Lok Sabha seats will lead Opposition front: Salman Khurshid

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The Congress is still in the “best position” to clinch 120-130 seats in the next Lok Sabha elections and assume the leadership role in a prospective anti-BJP opposition alliance, Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid has said, and rejected suggestions that the party was facing a “leadership crisis”.

    The Congress Working Committee (CWC) member also reminded regional parties opposed to the BJP of the defeat in the 2019 general elections when Narendra Modi powered the NDA to a second straight term in office due to a fragmented opposition, warning the “BJP is coming after them” in their respective states.

    “If somebody is not a leader, why project them (as one). If somebody is a leader, they will get projected on their own. Congress, among all opposition parties, is still in the best position to bring 120-130 seats,” he told PTI in an interview.

    The Gandhi family loyalist claimed the Congress is in “direct contest” with the BJP in around 240-250 seats and that formed the basis for his assertion.

    “Any party with 100-120 seats will be the leader, any party with two seats won’t be the leader. The answer to the leadership issue is 120 seats,” Khurshid said.

    Responding to a question about the voices in some sections of the opposition favouring West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the opposition spearhead against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Khurshid evaded a direct reply.

    “I have no views (on the issue). When everybody meets in Delhi they should talk. Why should I comment on it sitting in Kolkata? Can anyone bring in 120 seats? It seems to me that Congress can bring in 120 seats. If anybody else can bring in 120 seats, then they are welcome. Who is stopping them?” he said.

    “When opposition parties met in Delhi, no one spoke about who will be the leader or not,” he said.

    Khurshid said it is for the opposition parties, particularly the regional entities, to decide whether they want the BJP to remain in power over the next decade.

    “It is not just the fight for who will be in power in Delhi but also a survival battle for opposition parties as BJP is now coming after them. It is ultimately about their future as BJP is coming after them in states. They (regional parties) have to decide for themselves. We need to learn our lesson from the 2019 defeat,” he said.

    The senior Congress leader expressed doubts about the success of a United Front-like experiment where smaller parties ran the central government with outside support from the Congress between 1996 and 1998.

    “It may work, it may not work, I do not know. To form a government in Delhi, you need 272 seats. Unless a arty like the Congress brings you 120-130 seats, today it brings you only 50 seats, the 272 figure won’t be there. Everybody can go home. But if we (Congress) bring 120-130 seats, we (the opposition) can sit down and decide among ourselves,” he said.

    Khurshid rejected suggestions of a leadership crisis within the Congress but acknowledged the “void of not being in power”.

    “There is neither a leadership crisis nor is the party clueless on what to do and what not. But we are not a regimented party, we are a democratic party. There are different opinions, voices.

    But even those who have written a letter to the party (G 23 group) have never said they don’t have faith in the leadership,” he said.

    He said young leaders like Jitin Prasada and Sushmita Dev deserted the Congress as they were not ready to wait for its return to power.

    “There is no void of leadership, there is just a void of not being in power. The young leaders are not ready to wait. The old leaders are waiting for the party to return to power, but those who are in their 40s are not ready to wait,” he said.

    Khurshid rejected the view in a section of the Congress that someone from outside the Gandhi family should be handed over the baton to bring about a turnaround in the party’s dipping fortunes.

    “If somebody can get us as much vote and support the Gandhis get us even today is most welcome.

    But if you are realistic, then you would know that they don’t have even five per cent of the support that the Gandhis have,” he asserted.

    Khurshid, while speaking about the delay in holding organisational elections, said interim president Sonia Gandhi did not want to continue but party leaders persuaded her to helm the organisation.

    “Rahul Gandhi had personal reasons when he said he doesn’t want to hold this position but would continue to work for the party.

    We do hope that after this period of office recess, although he had remained active, the only thing is he didn’t have the label of the president,” he said.

    The veteran Congress leader said the CWC, the party’s highest decision making body, will take a call on the induction of poll strategist Prashant Kishor into the Congress.

    He said he had no information about whether kishor had offered to join the Congress or how the party had responded to it.

    “A decision will be taken based on consensus and after discussions in CWC. Nothing has been discussed so far,” he said.

    When asked about the possibility of Congress allying with the TMC in Bengal, he said it is for the two parties to decide keeping in mind the interest of their state units.

  • Afghanistan: BJP clueless about protecting India’s interest, claims Salman Khurshid

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Saturday alleged that the Centre had initially turned a blind eye to the Afghan situation and the BJP is clueless about protecting India’s interest in the region.

    Demanding that the government reveal what it discussed with the Taliban, Khurshid, a former external affairs minister, said the Congress would cooperate and support the Centre on the Afghanistan issue as it is a “matter of national security”.

    “The Centre initially turned a blind eye to the Afghan situation as if it was a problem only related to the US and its allies. There are serious concerns about security and threat to our national interests due to the ongoing situation in Afghanistan. The BJP is clueless about protecting India’s interest in the region,” he said while addressing a press conference here.

    “The government has spoken to Taliban. They should now tell us what was discussed. The countrymen should know this. The Congress party stands solidly behind protecting India’s interests and expects a mature political and diplomatic response from our government. We will cooperate and support the Centre regarding the situation in Afghanistan as it is a matter concerning national interests,” Khurshid said.

    Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal met senior Taliban leader Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai on Tuesday and conveyed India’s concerns that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism.

    The meeting took place at the Indian embassy in Doha at the request of the Taliban side and came two weeks after the outfit seized control of Kabul.

    The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said the discussions also focused on the safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan and the travel of Afghan nationals, especially members of minority communities, to India.

    Khurshid also slammed the Centre’s National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) policy, claiming that it was aimed at “looting” the people of the country and selling off India’s assets.

    “The anti-people policies of this government, just like NMP, aim at looting the people and sell India’s assets created by using public money over the last 70 years. The government has mishandled the economy and does not know what to do now. As a last resort, they are selling everything. This is a huge tragedy; it is something everyone should oppose,” he said.

    Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month announced Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline that will look to unlock value in infrastructure assets across sectors ranging from power to road and railways.

    Khurshid said the privatisation policy of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was different from that of the BJP as the UPA government’s strategy was never to sell strategic assets and profit-making companies.

    On the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls due next year, Khurshid said as of now, the Congress is focusing on increasing its organisational strength.

    “Presently, the Congress and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are focusing on increasing our strength in Uttar Pradesh. Yes, we were not very strong organisationally as of now, but the situation has changed in the last few months. We have increased our strength. But as of now, there are no talks of alliance with the Samajwadi Party,” he said.

  • Non-bailable warrant against Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s wife in misappropriation of funds case

    By PTI
    FARUKHABAD: A local court has issued a non-bailable warrant against Louise Khurshid, wife of former Union minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid, in a case of misappropriation of over Rs 71 lakh received in central grants by Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust run by her.

    Chief Judicial Magistrate Praveen Kumar Tyagi issued the non-bailable warrant against Louise and Trust secretary Athar Farooqui and fixed August 16 as the next date for hearing In March 2010, the Trust had received a grant of Rs 71.50 lakh from the central government for the distribution of wheelchairs, tricycles and hearing aids among physically challenged persons in 17 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

    Later allegations of corruption and forgery were levelled against the Trust’s office-bearers in 2012 when Khurshid was a minister in the then UPA government.

    However, the Khurshids had denied any wrongdoing.

    The Economic Offence Wing started a probe and in June 2017, EOW inspector Ram Shankar Yadav registered an FIR against Lousie Khurshid and Farooqui in Kayamganj police station here.

    Louise Khurshid was the project director of the Trust.

    The charge sheet in the case was filed on December 30, 2019.

    It was alleged that signatures of senior officials of Uttar Pradesh were forged and their fake seals were used to receive grants from the Union government for the welfare of the disabled.

    The trust had said it had organised camps for differently-abled children across over a dozen districts – Etah, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Kasganj, Mainpuri, Aligarh, Shajahanpur, Meerut, Bareilly, Moradabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Rampur, Sant Kabir Nagar and Allahabad– of UP for the distribution of equipment.

    It was claimed that equipment was distributed among children and Louise Khurshid had verified it as the director of the Trust in May 2010.

    However, it was later alleged that camps for the disabled allegedly existed only on paper.

  • Reform isn’t achieved by questioning something one has ‘taken advantage of’: Salman Khurshid slams G-23

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Taking a dig at some of the G-23 leaders who have renewed their call for reforms in the Congress, senior leader Salman Khurshid on Sunday asked whether those calling for organisational polls have got to where they are in the party in the same manner, and asserted that reform is achieved by sacrificing, not by suddenly questioning something that one has “taken advantage of” over the years.

    Days after G-23 leader M Veerappa Moily stressed the need for a “major surgery” on the party to make it electorally more competitive, Khurshid said these “wonderful phrases” are not the answer as party leaders need to sit down and come up with solutions to the challenges that have arisen in the last 10 years.

    In an interview with PTI, Khurshid also said that it was for Rahul Gandhi to decide whether he wants to contest the party’s presidential polls or not, but asserted that with or without being party president he remains “our leader”.

    Asked about Kapil Sibal’s call for widespread reforms across all levels of the organisation and Moily calling for a “major surgery” on the party, the former Union minister took a dig saying, “I am quite happy for the major surgery but what do you want to remove — my liver, kidney, just somebody tell me what surgery you want to do.”

    Khurshid, who is among the leaders considered close to the Gandhi family, said the “surgery” should be done on the party but it must be made clear what one will lose and what one will achieve by it.

    “These wonderful phrases are not the answer, we need to get to the bottom (of the problem), we need to get to the inside, before surgery, we need to do X-rays, ultrasounds,” the 68-year-old said using medical analogies.

    The senior Congress leader said he doesn’t understand when people say “let us do surgery, reform, bring about a fundamental change” and wishes that they would clearly explain what they mean by it.

    “If they mean that there should be a reshuffle and they should be given the top positions, then that is not reform or surgery. That is just saying ‘I want the job’. So, I think there should be a conversation,” he said.

    Khurshid asserted that the leaders calling for reform should have had a discussion with other leaders as well.

    “Why hasn’t somebody talked to me and said let us do this for the party? (it is as) if only they exist and want reform,” he said referring to the ‘Group of 23’ leaders who had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi and sought extensive organisational revamp last year.

    But since then, out of that group, Jitin Prasada has switched over to the BJP while many have apparently distanced themselves from the group.

    Pointing out that the ‘Group of 23′ leaders, which included the likes of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Moily and Sibal, had sought major organisational revamp, he said they only said there should be elections in the party.

    “Nobody is against the election, there should be an election.

    It would have been very nice if they had reminded us of which election they won to get where they are.

    If they reminded us of that it would be easy for us to understand,” he said, taking a swipe at the G-23 leaders.

    “But someone who talks about elections who has never got anywhere with elections in the past I think is being a little unfair to us,” Khurshid said.

    Talking further about the G-23 leaders’ demand for organisational polls, he said they want elections at all levels and “I just want to know — is that the way they have got to where they are”.

    “Which party has elections at all levels in India? Elections at all levels in India, how useful, difficult and hurtful they have been, panchayat elections. We will have to have a separate election commission of the power that the Election Commission of India has because the Congress party is a huge party,” he argued.

    There are many questions and leaders need to sit and talk about it, he said, adding that they certainly need not go to the press seeking reforms.

    On criticism that the Congress is in decline as it is not taking the path of reforms, he said many people who expressed dissatisfaction have done very well out of the system that the party has.

    Noting that every party has to reform from time to time, Khurshid said every reform doesn’t come by suddenly questioning something that “you have taken advantage of”.

    “Reform comes when you give up what you have received, say that I need to make a sacrifice because I want some change to happen. Therefore, the first thing that I will do is to give up what I have received to make an example to people, otherwise people think you are being hypocritical,” he said in an apparent dig at the G-23 leaders.

    “You have got something, enjoyed it, and now you want more and therefore you are talking about reform. Reform means when everybody has to sit down” and think about what is required, he said.

    Asserting that there is no shying away from that election, Khurshid said it would happen but this is not the time to collect 5,000 people and get them to come and vote.

    On whether polls should be conducted for the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Khurshid said the Constitution of the party will dictate what is to be done and “we will abide by it”.

    “I want to know how many people who want elections for the CWC were in the CWC by an election in the past,” he said.

    “I am waiting for my leaders to take a call, they know what is good for the party, what is good for the country. I am not in a hurry,” he asserted.

    Khurshid also pointed to the impact of coronavirus on the party for not going ahead with organizational polls and cited the loss of senior leaders such as Ahmed Patel and Motilal Vora to Covid as reasons for slowing down the process.

  • We have to think big like BJP to succeed, says Congress leader Salman Khurshid

    By PTI
    BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid wants his party to think big like the BJP, and refuse to accept “pessimistic view” that the outfit has now become too small, weak and cannot regain its lost ground.

    “One take-away that I have from (West) Bengal and Assam (Assembly elections) is: You should never, never accept that you are too small, you are too weak and that you can’t make it big in a particular region or State. I think, BJP has done that (think-big strategy) where they had no existence at all. They tried to do it in other places where they still don’t have any existence,” he told PTI in an interview on Monday.

    The Congress, the former Union Minister insisted, should not accept the “pessimistic view” that it has lost too much ground and it cannot now regain. “I think with determination and confidence, we can and that’s what we should do,” he added.

    Khurshid agreed with analysis in some quarters that there was tactical voting in the recent Assembly elections in West Bengal, where the Congress and the Left were “wiped out”. “That’s true. One analyst said the extent of tactical voting that happened in Bengal may not have happened in Assam but obviously tactical voting happened in both the places…what do you do with it (tactical voting) as a party for the future, it’s something that we will have to consider,” he said.

    Khurshid was asked about his take on assessment by some of his party leaders who blamed a tie-up with Indian Secular Front contributing to the rout in West Bengal and those who claimed that the partnership with AIUDF cost the party dearly in Assam.

    “Whenever you don’t succeed, this is the kind of explanation that you are given; when you succeed, you are given a different explanation. So, I don’t think post-hoc explanations are sensible although they help you analyse your decision-making process and merits of that decision. All I can say is: much can be said on both sides,” he said.

    Khurshid also said that the Congress manifesto for Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, due next year, would be a manifesto “from amongst” the people. “Idea is to be a little more analytical about what is it that people want and see if we can give it,” he said.

    Khurshid added: “Of course, we continue to face that problem of irrational division along castes and communities, and that will get resolved over a period. That (the division) can’t be something which can be wished away. It will get resolved over a period.”

    In the Assembly elections, the results of which were declared on May two, the Congress was decimated in West Bengal, where the Trinamool Congress won with a tally of 213 of 294 seats. The Congress also failed to defeat incumbent governments in Kerala and Assam.

    In Puducherry, the party was defeated by the NR Congress-led National Democratic Alliance. However, in Tamil Nadu, the Congress was a constituent of the winningDravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance.

  • ‘They combined these two words again’: Salman Khurshid hits out at BJP on ‘Love Jihad’

    By ANI
    KOCHI: Reacting to Union minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan’s statement that the NDA would bring a law against Love Jihad in Kerala, former Union Minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid asked why the BJP has combined the words “love” and “jihad” apparently without understanding their meaning.

    Khurshid said, “I don’t know whether BJP members understand the English language. Do they know what is Jihad? And do they know what is love? They have combined these two words again.”

    Khurshid further said, “The Supreme Court has clarified in the case that they came from Kerala, clarified in cases that came from Madhya Pradesh and elsewhere. There is a right to autonomy and the right to dignity that every human being has. Every person under the Constitution has this right. And the implications of autonomy and equality and dignity. The implications of that can be seen in different cases on different facts. I am not quite sure that the judgment given by the Supreme Court has in any way endorsed what the BJP thinks.”

    “Frankly, who would endorse something the BJP thinks, because one doesn’t know on they think. I don’t know what they mean by it. What is it I wish they would explain. And one could disabuse them and say I am sorry but this is all you are talking about. Reality is completely different,” he said.

    On the NDA’s promise to bring a law to protect the traditions of Sabarimala, he said, “Sabarimala is as we all know an extremely important and sensitive subject. This subject is one on which the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench pronounced its judgement. Curiously, it was the only woman judge, Justice Malhotra who dissented and said the constitutional morality of our constitution doesn’t permit interference whereas four judges said that interference was justified.”

    “This is something that one can simply say it is the final word although there is four-judge majority in this. I think it has become more apparent that the way people have responded that this is not the final word. This is not the only area in which there is difficulty in how we and society perceive our traditional rights what we associate as being religious rights and the manner in which moral cause has sometimes interpreted has not been relevant,” the Congress leader said.

    He further said, “This is not something you should exploit for an election. This is a very important sensitive thing on which people may have to separate views. But the fact that you have a separate view shouldn’t mean that you should insult the view of the other side or that you should consider that to be relevant.”

    “I personally think and I believe all sensible people will say this. Sabarimala is the problem with we all have to internalise and find an ultimate working solution. It is not that something you should exploit for the purpose of an election and reduce it to slogans,” he added.

    The BJP has supported the remark of Kerala Congress (M) chief Jose K Mani who had said that the alleged ‘love jihad’ cases in Kerala should be studied and clarified if there is such suspicion.

    Speaking to ANI, Muraleedharan said BJP didn’t rake up the issue and the Christian community is worried about this. “BJP didn’t rake up the issue. This is an issue that has been there and alive in the society about which many community leaders had expressed their opinion. Christian community is worried about the issue that marriages are happening in the guise of love marriage ultimately aiming at conversion,” Muraleedharan said.

    “I would say Jose K Mani has raised worries and apprehensions of the Christian community. It is for mainstream parties to come out openly and express their opinions on the issue. BJP has responded to this and has come out openly to a live issue saying that there are apprehensions in minds of people and it should be addressed,” he said.

    State assembly elections for the 140-member Kerala will be held in a single phase on April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

  • Be careful while raising issues, don’t give BJP chance to polarise society: Khurshid to minorities

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Sunday said minority communities should be careful while raising issues and not give the BJP an opportunity to polarise the society.

    He also said that members of the Muslim community should try to connect with every section of the society.

    “We should be careful and watchful while raising our issues so that the BJP doesn’t get a chance to polarise the society. We should also not be fearful in raising our issues. The Congress has always worked for the unity of the country but democracy today is under threat,” Khurshid said.

    He was speaking at a felicitation programme of newly-elected Muslim councillors of the Congress in local bodies.

    “We are fortunate that non-Muslims have always been raising our concerns and fighting for our cause,” the senior Congress leader said while talking to reporters after the event.

  • Is it fair to kick the ladder you climbed to reach in life: Khurshid asks dissenting Congress leaders

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The disquiet within the Congress continues to grow with senior party leader Salman Khurshid asking ‘Group of 23’ leaders in an ‘open letter’ if they were changing their goal posts and whether it was fair on their part to kick the ladder that they climbed to reach the top storey of life.

    Khurshid, a former Union minister, asked them to worry about how they would be judged in history than to seek a better place in the present.

    His remarks come after a public display of anger displayed by the G-23 leaders led by veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad in Jammu.

    He said they along with other Congress leaders must show the ordinary party workers across the country the path out of the present darkness towards sunshine instead of raising concerns about what they received, while noting that sacrifice cannot come with pre-conditions of success.

    He also quoted former US President John Kennedy’s words “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country (read party)”, to say that the thousands of unnamed Congress cadres, who gave to the Congress, but unavoidably received little or nothing in return, too believe in democracy unlike the G-23 leaders who have an impressive history of achievements.

    “We thought the G-23 made their point and were suitably informed that party elections will be held when appropriate (something they agreed to in their interaction with the Congress president and later at the CWC).

    But are they changing the goal posts once again with the public display of disquiet (or reservations) in Jammu and as we are being told, very soon in Haryana,” he asked in the open letter.

    “Gumnam of Congress too care about democracy”, Khurshid said in the letter.

    The senior Congress leader said the growing dark footprint of communal forces has pushed the party into “forced errors” of becoming self conscious.

    “As a result we shy away from speaking about minorities and put on a public display of identifying with the cultural symbols of the majority that have largely been appropriated by the BJP. We have been forced to accept ‘mistakes’ made by our heroes because public mood appears to require it. Obviously this calls for careful balancing of reality and perception, strategy and ideology,” he noted.

    Khurshid said all leaders, old and young, happy and unhappy, need to come together to deal with this challenge instead of cribbing about real and imagined democratic deficits.

    “They must not forget that democracy is a process, not static in time. Ultimately it is a relevant question whether it is fair to kick the very ladder you have climbed to the top storey of life from where making speeches is easy. But do think of the many who did not make it to the ladder, the elevated platforms being far beyond reach,” the former minister noted.

    He said that there are two ways of spending these dark moments — to count blessings and the moments of joy and comfort the party has given; or else to wing about what was not received.

    “If we choose the latter what conviction will we carry with the innumerable workers who continue to hope that the darkness will give way. Besides, how will we be judged by history? It might be more important to worry about that than to seek a better place in the present,” Khurshid said.

    The senior Congressman said just as the names of national martyrs are engraved on India Gate, there are records in the Congress office where innumerable names are embossed as part of its history and “for most that is enough recognition”.