Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony said that the party is losing its mass base in the state due to infighting and refusal by leaders to learn lessons from setbacks.
Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony said that the party is losing its mass base in the state due to infighting and refusal by leaders to learn lessons from setbacks. In a hard-hitting speech at the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Sangamam organised by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee here on Saturday, Mr Antony also called for a generational change in the leadership of the party.
Warning about the BJP encroaching upon the support-base of the Congress, the senior leader said that by standing together for a photo or a sitting together for a meeting at the KPCC office will not help bring unity to the party.
“The people should be convinced of the unity,” he said.
Pleading to bring back those who are staying away from the party, Mr Antony said efforts should also be made for preventing others from leaving.
“We should give them hope,” he said.
The Congress leader pointed out that the BJP is making an all-out effort to make India Congress-free, while the CPI(M) strives for the disintegration of the UDF in the state. “The party leaders and workers should be aware of both the dangers and take steps to counter them,” he said. The former defence minister lamented that the leaders in Kerala have not learnt any lessons even after the defeat in the panchayat and Assembly elections. Mr Antony later clarified that by “generational change” he was not advocating a total revamp of the existing leadership.
The issue was about giving more representation to youth and women, he added.
