Former President Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee jabbed the Congress, questioning the party's ideology as she was responding to a question which accused her of moving away from the ideology for "position and power".
Responding to the post, she tweeted, "Congress or Gandhi-Nehru family didn’t give any position to my ‘papa’ out of charity. He earned it & deserved it. Are the Gandhis like feudal lords expected 2 b paid homage 4 generations? What is d current Congress party’s ideology btw? Becoming Shiv-bhakts just before elections?"
Earlier on the sidelines of a literature festival in Jaipur, she said it was time that the Congress party looked outside the Nehru-Gandhi family for leadership.
“The Congress is still the main opposition party. Its place is undisputed. But how to strengthen this presence? This is the question. It is the job of party leaders to consider this," Sharmistha Mukherjee told news agency PTI.
She said the party needed to involve its grassroots workers at every level to restore democracy in the party. She suggested that membership campaign, organizational elections were conducted within the party as former President Pranab Mukherjee also wrote in his diary.
“There is no magic wand,” she said.
Speaking on Rahul Gandhi as the party leader, Sharmistha Mukherjee said, "It is not my job to define Rahul Gandhi. It is not possible to define any individual. If someone asks me to define my father, I cannot even explain my father."
"But as a Congress supporter and a responsible citizen, I am worried about the party. And certainly the time has come to look outside the Nehru-Gandhi family for leadership," Sharmistha Mukherjee said.
She added that she is a staunch Congressperson whether people believed it or not.
"The Congress should introspect whether it is truly upholding its ideology forward today. Are pluralism, secularism, tolerance, inclusivity, freedom of expression, which have been at the core of Congress, being followed in practice? "Freedom of speech does not only mean that you praise your leader. And the moment you criticize the party leadership, the entire ecosystem puts you in the dock. Is this freedom of expression?" Sharmistha Mukherjee said.
Sharing her opinion on the opposition's INDIA bloc, she said, "When it was formed, I had posted on X that if it fails, what will be the headlines? 'INDIA Breaks'. No political party should be synonymous with the country. This thought came to my mind."
"As far as leadership is concerned, there are many senior leaders in the alliance...they should sort it out themselves. But they need to resolve the issues like seat sharing, etc. I cannot answer whether this alliance will survive till the general elections," she added.