CWC: Rahul Gandhi asks for tracking of leaders' posts after Kharge flags silence on Haldwani
New Delhi: A closed-door meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Wednesday saw Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, request the party's social media head to prepare periodic reports on how many leaders are amplifying the party's official positions on key issues. The move came after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed disappointment that few colleagues had publicly raised the recent 'purification ritual' incident in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, where he had addressed a public meeting.
According to party sources, Mr. Gandhi asked Supriya Shrinate, who oversees the party's social media communications, to compile regular reports tracking which leaders are or are not promoting the party's line on important matters. This was in response to Mr. Kharge's observation that while three to four articulate leaders appear regularly on television, they do not always adhere to the party's stand on crucial issues.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal informed the Congress chief that the party had strongly condemned the incident, but sources said Mr. Kharge did not appear fully convinced by this assurance. The Haldwani incident, described as a 'purification ritual', had drawn criticism from opposition parties.
The meeting also witnessed a difference of opinion between senior leader Manish Tewari and Mr. Gandhi over the nature of recent student protests. Mr. Tewari argued that most recent protests were limited and drew parallels with historical movements such as the anti-Hindi agitations in Tamil Nadu in the 1960s, the students' resistance in north India against English, the Navnirman movement in Gujarat in the mid-1970s, and the Mandal commission agitation in the late 1980s. He also remarked that student wings of political parties have not always been effective in leading such movements.
Mr. Gandhi, however, countered this view, asserting that students were aligned with the Congress during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Sources indicated that this was the third time Mr. Gandhi had disagreed with Mr. Tewari during a CWC meeting.
After the meeting, Mr. Tewari did not speak to the media but posted a cryptic quote on social media platform X, attributed to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: “The Dictator, in all his pride, is held in the grip of his Party machine. He can go forward; he cannot go back…. All-strong without, he is all-weak within.” The post suggested a deeper disagreement, though Mr. Tewari did not elaborate.
The CWC is the Congress party's highest decision-making body, and its meetings often involve discussions on organisational strategy, political issues, and electoral preparedness. The exact details of the discussions are not made public, and the incidents described here are based on anonymous party sources.
