Sonia Gandhi set to resign as interim chief of Congress
New Delhi : Sonia Gandhi has told her aides that she wants to resign from her interim chief post amid a massive controversy over a letter by more than 20 top party leaders calling for sweeping reforms, introspection and "a full-time, visible leadership".
From here, 73-year-old Congress leader will either resign immediately or will give the party some time to decide on the name of new chief.
The letter suggests that the Gandhis, who have led the party for most of its 134-year history, can remain an "integral part of a collective leadership".
The matter will be discussed in the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled for Monday.
Rahul Gandhi has said that he is determined to not return as the Congress president and will continue to work for the party and fight the BJP-led RSS, sources close to him told NDTV as Gandhi family loyalists took on the leaders who signed the letter.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also claimed that she wishes to be on the current post and does not wish to lead the party for now.
The letter, signed by senior leaders like Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Prithviraj Chavan, Vivek Tankha and Anand Sharma, called for a "full-time", "effective leadership" that will be "visible" and "active" in the field, sources said. It also called for "honest introspection" and suggested a "collective leadership", reforms including decentralisation of power, empowerment of state units and organizational elections at every level, sources said.
