Veteran Congress leader Natwar Singh targets Gandhis over Punjab crisis, says party's in a mess

Natwar Singh alleged, "Rahul Gandhi, who doesn't even hold any designation (in Congress party), is calling the shots."

New Delhi: Natwar Singh, Congress veteran and former Union minister, has come down heaviliy on party leadership and criticised the top brass after Amarinder Singh stepped down from his post of Punjab Chief Minister. The veteran went as far as indicating that the Gandhis are largely responsible for the mess. 

Natwar Singh said the party is in “very poor shape”, in an interview with News18. He said that the Congress party which Amarinder Singh joined is very different from the Congress party of today. "It’s (the party) in very poor shape. I don’t know whether he (Amarinder Singh) will leave the Congress, but the fact of the matter is that at one point, the Congress was one of the greatest democratic parties in the world. Today, it’s in a pathetic state,” Natwar Singh told the same channel.

Singh also said that Amarinder Singh had served the Congress for so many years and been in politics for 52 years, and in place of that they brought someone like Navjot Singh Sidhu. Singh said further, "It's not alright at all, there are three people responsible (Sonia, Priyanka, Rahul), one of them is Rahul Gandhi who doesn't even hold any designation, and he is calling the shots."

#WATCH | "...(Present situation of Congress) It's not alright at all, there are three people responsible, one of them is Rahul Gandhi who doesn't even hold any designation, and he is calling the shots...," says Former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh pic.twitter.com/S7QIei0L29

— ANI (@ANI) September 30, 2021

In another interview to India Today, the veteran leader said that he is doubtful if Charanjit Singh Channi's government will last and since Punjab is a border state, it's a risky business. 

Incidentally, a day earlier, another senior leader, Kapil Sibal targeted the party high command over the lack of leadership. He is one of the 23 leaders (G-23) who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding organisational reforms in the party and a full-time President. Sibal said he would continue to raise those demands. “We are not ‘Jee Huzoor 23’. It is very clear. We will keep talking. We will continue to reiterate our demands,” Sibal was quoted as saying by ANI.