Salman Khurshid: ‘Congress facing crisis of ideas, not of leadership’

COMING OUT in support of the Gandhis in the wake of senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s remarks that they should step aside from the leadership role and give some other person a chance to lead the party, former Union minister and Congress Working Committee member Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said the party is facing a “crisis of ideas” and not crisis of leadership.

He said the argument that shortcomings in the party’s performance was only because “we don’t have the right leader is not acceptable”.

“The crisis that we face today in the party and in the country… it is not a crisis of leadership. It is a crisis of ideas. The crisis of ideas cannot be taken up by pulling out flesh from our body. The crisis of ideas will be taken up by agreeing on an idea. What is the legacy idea of the Congress? Let us agree upon that and let each one of us ask ourselves. Have we lived up to the legacy idea of the Congress before we talk about… the leaders have not done this and have not done that,” he told The Indian Express.

Asked whether the leadership was not responsible for not being able to present a new idea to the people, he said, “I can’t tell you how much the leadership wants to tackle the crisis of ideas and we and I include myself… we sabotage it from within… because we have our own ideas. Somebody wants soft Hindutva, somebody wants socialism, somebody wants capitalism, somebody wants ‘don’t attack Modi’. So, how are we being fair to our leadership and I include myself in it… how are we being fair?”

Apparently referring to the demand of the G 23 leaders for elections at all levels, including to pick CWC members, he said, “The party was asked to hold an election and the party is holding an election.” “In fact, people who were associated with what Kapil Sibal was associated with….the demand for accountability and elections… They did not even agree when elections were suggested to be advanced [at the CWC meeting]. They said the dates have been fixed and let the elections happen on that date…So unity in a time of crisis is also an important virtue. Is that virtue being respected or not?”

Khurshid said Sibal is “entitled to a point of view but we will not decide it on the basis of his point of view, eminent as he may be”.

Lashing out at the G 23 leaders, he said, “Many of the people who are complaining today are not talking about what they have benefited from the system…”

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