Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has given a clarification over his remarks that he has not met Rahul Gandhi in the last four years.
“He had resigned from his post in the organisation…He is opposing the prime minister in his own way and going across the nation and abroad. Not necessary to meet him every time,” said Chavan when asked about his remarks about meeting the former party president.
A member of a group of dissidents in Congress, Chavan further said that it was not just about him. “There was COVID-19 for two years. Nobody met anyone during that period of time. Even before he resigned from his post in the organisation, he used to tell us to meet General Secretary for organisation-related work,” he added.
Earlier this week, the former Union minister had said that he has not been able to meet senior leader Rahul Gandhi in the last four years.
In a Times of India podcast, which was released on Thursday, he said there was no ‘chintan’ or introspection at the recent Congress conclave in Udaipur.
“I occasionally meet Dr Manmohan Singh whenever I am in Delhi. But his health is not what it used to be earlier. He is always hospitable and ready to talk. I have also met Sonia Gandhi whenever I sought time, but I haven’t been able to meet Rahul Gandhi for long time…I think in four years. There is a complaint that the party leadership is not as accessible as it should be,” Chavan said Chavan in the interview.
Chavan is part of the ‘G-23’ — a group of dissident leaders who are pressing for organizational reforms in the Congress, which has suffered back-to-back electoral setbacks in the past few years.
In the podcast, he also said that Kapil Sibal, who recently quit the party, felt strongly that the Congress leadership was not getting honest advice, and ‘nominated’ persons only give the advice which the leadership likes.
