Rise above affinity of family: Expelled Congress MLAs to Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi : Nine expelled Uttar Pradesh Congress MLAs have written to Sonia Gandhi, asking her to 'rise above the affinity of the family' and lead the party on the basis of mutual trusts and restoring constitutional and democratic values.

The new letter comes days after a similar letter was sent to Sonia Gandhi by the senior section of party leaders, demanding a "full-time, visible leadership" and proposing sweeping organisational changes, including elections at every level and decentralisation of power.

With that letter, Congress Working Committee had held an emergency meet in which Mrs Sonia Gandhi had offered to resign from her post.

"Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi built the Congress and the country with democratic values. But it is ironical that, for some time the way in which the party is being run, there is confusion and depression among ordinary party workers," the UP Congress leaders, including former MP Santosh Singh and former minister Satyadev Tripathi, said in their letter.

"When the country's democratic values and social fabric is lying scattered, the need of the country is that Congress remain alive, dynamic and strong," they said.

"Please rise above the affinity for the family, and as per traditions, restore the expression of thoughts, constitutional and democratic values, and run the organisation by establishing communication and mutual trust," the leaders added.

The going has gone tough for Congress as the party somehow managed to retain power in Rajasthan after a revolt from Sachin Pilot in the state.