CWC meeting: Rahul Gandhi questions timing of 23 Congress leaders' letter calling for leadership change

At the virtual Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Rahul, who had resigned as the Congress president after the party's disastrous performance in the 2019 General Elections, said the letter was sent at a time the outfit was battling political crisis in Rajasthan and Sonia was unwell.

In a letter, 23 Congress leaders including five Chief Ministers had called for sweeping changes at all levels of the party.

Rahul has reportedly accused senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who was one of the 23 leaders, of colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the meeting. 

Hitting back at Rahul publicly, Sibal tweeted, ""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 Congress, which had ruled the country for decades since Independence in 1947, was decimated in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by the Narendra Modi-led BJP, getting reduced to 40 odd seats across the country.

The 2019 Lok Sabha polls were nothing short of a mere replay of the 2014 setback for the Congress, as the grand old party just managed to cross 50 seats in the vast country of 1.3 billion people.

After Rahul had stepped down as the party chief in 2019, Sonia was appointed as the interim president of the Congress.