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Veteran Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who was in the news recently for being one of the 23 signatories of a letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding sweeping changes in the party, has once again spoke up after the defeat in Bihar where the Congress proved to be the albatross around Mahagathbandhan's neck.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Sibal once again slammed the Congress leadership, saying the party has still maintained silence over dismal show in Bihar assembly election. It is to be noted that the seat tally of the Congress went down further as compared to 2015 assembly election.
“We are yet to hear from the Congress party their views on our recent performance in Bihar and in the by-elections. Maybe they think all is well and that it should be business as usual,” Sibal said.
“If for six years the Congress has not introspected what hope do we have for introspection now? We know what is wrong with Congress. Organisationally, we know what is wrong. I think we have all the answers. The Congress party itself knows all the answers. But they are not willing to recognise those answers,” he was quoted as saying to the national paper.
Asked about why there was a 'reluctance' to address the issues, Sibal said it was so because the Congress Working Committee is a nominated body. Urging for the adoption of "democratic processes" in the constitution of the CWC, he said it was not expected for nominated members to start questioning the reasons for the "constant decline" of the Congress in "elections after elections".
Sibal said the party had not been an effective alternative in Bihar for a long time, and had not been an alternative in Uttar Pradesh for more than 25 years. He added that even in Gujarat, where he said the Congress is the alternative in the absence of a third force, the party lost all the Lok Sabha seats and had not been able to score at all in the present by-elections.
He said the "culture of nominations" must leave the party. "Elections through nominations will not lead to the desired results. Some of us put our pen to paper and said what should be done in the Congress on the road ahead. Instead of listening to us they turned their back on us. The results are for all to see," he added.