Ex-home minister Sushil Shinde calls out Congress, says tradition of dialogue has ended in party

Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde on Wednesday said the tradition of debates and dialogue had ended in the party and there is a need for introspection meetings.

Speaking at a public function in Pune’s Indapur, Shinde said the policies of the Congress may be wrong and introspection meetings are needed for course correction.

“Congress tradition of holding sessions on debates and dialogue has ended today. I feel sad about it. Introspection meetings are required. Our policies may be wrong, but to correct them, such sessions are needed,” said the Congress leader.

Shinde’s comment came amid calls for reform within the party from many senior leaders. Last year in August, a group of 23 senior Congress leaders, including Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma wrote to the party’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi seeking urgent organisational reforms.

The leaders also include former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress leader Raj Babbar, Vivek Tankha, and Manish Tiwari.