Only Rahul Gandhi can take over as Congress president: Bhupesh Bhagel

Rahul Gandhi is the only leader who can take on the mantle of the Congress presidentship as he is the one who has been taking a strong stand on important issues without bowing to governments pressure Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has said amid a growing chorus within the party seeking Rahul Gandhis return to the helmWithin a span of one week two state units of the Congress have passed resolutions backing Rahul Gandhis return as party chief While Delhi Congress had passed a resolution requesting Rahul Gandhi to take over as chief last Sunday the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee CPCC on Saturday unanimously passed a resolution moved by Bhupesh Baghel to reappoint the Wayanad MP as the party presidentAll Congress persons are standing resolutely with Rahul Gandhi and believe that under his leadership the Congress organisation will be constantly strengthened Under Rahul Gandhis leadership confidence has been kindled among Congress workers that under his leadership and guidance they will strengthen the partys foundation the resolution passed by the CPCC saidIn an interview with PTI Bhupesh Baghel said Rahul Gandhi enjoys the confidence of one and all in the party and holds the party togetherAsked if Rahul Gandhi was best suited to take on party presidentship he said Who else is there Apart from Rahul Gandhi is there any leader who is touring the country who is recognized by the Congress workers across the countryRahul Gandhi is speaking out on all issues be it demonetisation GST or COVID19 he made his stand clear the Chhattisgarh chief minister saidHe also took a clear cut stand in favour of farmers So he is the only leader who is taking a clear cut stand on important issues is putting forth his views forcefully not bowing before the governments pressure Bhupesh Baghel saidAsked if Rahul Gandhi should become president through elections or should he be appointed chief without the electoral process as a unanimous choice he said whatever the All India Congress Committee AICC and the Congress Working Committee CWC decide would be followedEverything should be done according to the Constitution of the party he addedDefinitely Rahul Gandhi is the only leader who can take on the mantle of national presidentship of the party Bhupesh Baghel assertedOn whether elections to the CWC should also be held along with the polls of party president Bhupesh Baghel said the matter had been discussed and there was no controversy as whatever is in the Constitution of the party will be followedThe party traditions will be followed We have a constitution and traditions are also there which will be followed he saidCongress last month announced that the party will have an elected president by June 2021 at any costAfter a threeandahalfhour meeting which was stormy at times the Congress Working Committee CWC the partys highest policymaking body had authorised incumbent chief Sonia Gandhi to schedule the internal elections after the conclusion of assembly polls in five states due to be held in AprilMayCongress leaders KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala had said that the CWC elections will also be held but it remains to be seen whether they can be scheduled before or after the election to the post of Congress presidentSonia Gandhi took over as interim Congress president after Rahul Gandhi resigned in the wake of the partys Lok Sabha debacle in May 2019Bhupesh Baghel who was recently made a senior observer for the upcoming Assam assembly polls by the party for overseeing the election campaign management and coordination slammed the BJP for targeting the Congress alliance with All India United Democratic Front AIUDF in the stateUnion Home Minister Amit Shah had kickstarted BJPs campaign for the state election in Assam last month alleging that the CongressAIUDF combine will open all gates to welcome infiltrators if it comes to power in AssamHitting out at the BJP Bhupesh Baghel said It is unfortunate that the BJP indulges in politics of fear They never talk about their achievements There is an alliance of six parties but they are talking about one party AIUDFIf you BJP are talking about Assam You were in power for five years how many promises you fulfilled What happened about the major promises he askedThe BJP always spreads fear sometimes of Pakistan sometimes of China and at other times of HinduMuslim Bhupesh Baghel allegedThey BJP scare people and threaten them They are getting people to crossover to their party by scaring and threatening them After going into the party what is the state of the leaders be it Jyotiraditya Scindia or Himanta Biswa Sarma Bhupesh Baghel saidAsserting that the Congress electoral prospects in Assam are very good Bhupesh Baghel said the main issues in the polls would be the BJP governments failure in Assam and the achievements of the Congress government which was in power for 15 years in the stateHe said the Congress alliance will soon come up with a common minimum programme and a coordination committee will be set up he saidThe election to the 126member Assam Assembly is likely in MarchAprilThe Assam Pradesh Congress Committee APCC has announced that it will contest the forthcoming state polls in alliance with five parties AIUDF the CPI CPIM CPIML and the Anchalik Gana Morcha to oust the ruling BJP from powerThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever