NEW DELHI: With a Rahul Gandhi loyalist holding UPA responsible for the weakening of the party, Congress functionaries on Saturday came out in defence of the 2004-2014 government calling it “transformative” and one that had been sabotaged by a conspiracy and malicious campaign by political rivals.
The backlash came after a controversy erupted on Thursday when, in a meeting of Rajya Sabha members chaired by Sonia Gandhi, new MP Rajeev Satav countered a demand by Congress veterans for “introspection” into the 2019 defeat by blaming the UPA era for the party’s unpopularity.
Congress MP Manish Tewari called for a settlement of the leadership issue and told TOI, “A regular president provides stability at the top. Given the prevailing situation when the credibility of the government is at its nadir, it will help the opposition coalesce around Congress.”
Senior member Anand Sharma posted an 11-tweet thread to defend UPA. “Congressmen must be proud of UPA’s legacy. No party disowns or discredits its legacy. Nobody expects BJP to be charitable and give us credit but our own should respect and not forget,” he wrote.
Tewari said: “Despite being in wilderness for ten years, BJP never ran down the Vajpayee years in power. In fact, BJP passionately defended it at every forum. It is unfortunate that some ill-informed people would rather fight the ghost of UPA than frontally take on BJP.”
Diplomat-turned-politician Shashi Tharoor said lessons had to be learned from election defeats “but not by playing into the hands of our ideological enemies”. Former Union minister Milind Deora lamented that Singh’s service was criticised in his presence.
As the storm grew, Satav clarified that he had never questioned Singh’s leadership, and blamed the row on media reports.