NEW DELHI: A day after former Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed’s scathing remarks against Rahul Gandhi, veteran leader Rashid Alvi on Sunday claimed that the lack of effective platform for dialogue and limited access to top leadership has created a serious communication gap within the organisation. While talking to news agency ANI, Alvi claimed that party workers complain that it’s not easy to meet with the Congress high command.“I haven’t seen Shakeel ji’s statement, but a major problem in the Congress party is that there’s no forum where the issues can be discussed. It’s generally difficult to meet with the leaders. If people want to express their concerns, where can they go? Not everyone is a member of the CWC. There is definitely a communication gap. This is a major problem within the Congress party, and many people complain that it’s not easy to meet with the Congress high command. The communication gap must definitely be eliminated,” Alvi said.He added that the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi took out time to meet with everyone.Alvi also raised concerned of the exit of several Muslim leaders from the grand-old-party and claimed that if Muslim leadership is ignored in the party, then leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi will continue to emerge in the country.“Muslim leaders haven’t left out of greed for power. They have left, and this is a matter of concern, because Muslim leadership has been ignored in the Congress party,” Alvi said.“If Muslim leadership is ignored, then leaders like Owaisi will continue to emerge in the country. And today, Owaisi is becoming a powerful force,” he added.‘Must engage in a comprehensive internal dialogue’Meanwhile, Congress leader Anant Gadgil also called for an urgent “introspection” after party’s lackluster performance in the recent Maharashtra municipal elections.He said that Congress must reconnect with its core workers and rural base to survive. Gadgil also stressed that the Congress needs to look inward at a time when the political discourse is dominated by the BJP’s victory and the internal bickering within the ruling Mahayuti over the mayoral posts.“Instead of holding any single individual responsible, the party must engage in a comprehensive internal dialogue,” Gadgil said.He also said that with rapid urbanisation in Maharashtra, the Congress must promote leaders who command genuine public respect and middle-class support, moving beyond the traditional arithmetic of “money and caste”.This comes after former Congress MP Shakeel Ahmed attacked Rahul Gandhi over the party’s consistent electoral failures. Taking a jibe at Rahul, Ahmed said, “Even if Rahul Gandhi wants, he still can’t take Congress below the 2nd position. The reason is that every other party is only in one state.”He also added that the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha is “uncomfortable” about collaborating with popular, veteran leaders.He also alleged, “There is no internal democracy in the Congress party. In the Congress party, whatever Rahul Gandhi says is final.”This is not the first time a party leader has complained about not getting an audience with the Congress scion. Recently, former Odisha MLA Mohammed Moquim wrote to Sonia Gandhi, calling for “open-heart surgery” in the party and flagging a growing disconnect between the leadership and its workers.In his five-page letter, he complained that he had not been granted an audience with Rahul Gandhi for almost three years. “This is not a personal grievance … but a reflection of a wider emotional disconnect felt by workers across India, who feel unseen and unheard,” he wrote.
About the Author
