No matter whoever becomes the Congress president, Rahul Gandhi will remain the favourite whipping boy for everyone, therefore, it would be better for him to take the reins himself, Chhattisgarh Health Minister and senior party leader T S Singh Deo said on September 2, 2022.
Speaking to The Hindu about the ongoing organisational elections, Mr. Deo said, that the present arrangement of leadership vacuum cannot continue. “I believe that Sonia Gandhi must continue, but if her health does not permit, then the party should ensure that the current situation does not continue. There should be one clear point of authority. One individual, male or female, who will be the President of the party. There shouldn’t be multiple power centres. That can not be healthy for the Congress,” Mr. Deo said.
On July 16 Mr. Deo, relinquished his portfolio of Panchayat and Rural Development attacking his own government of not building eight lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and blaming the government for undermining his position as Minister. Senior party leaders K C Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik and Randeep Surjewala had met Mr. Deo in Delhi to hear out his grievances. Last year August he had staked a claim to the Chief Minister’s post, reportedly on the strength of a promise made by then Congress president Rahul Gandhi. But more than a year later, the power struggle continues.
