NEW DELHI: Moments after Kerala leader PC Chacko quit the party citing lack of democracy and groupism, veteran Congress leader and prominent member of the G23 group Anand Sharma threw his weight behind the party saying there were no groups in the party and it was a united front.
Sharma, who recently triggered a row by publicly stating that the Congress was weakening and the letter writers would work to strengthen it, today backed party chief Sonia Gandhi and said everyone would fight the upcoming state polls together.
On differences of opinion on issues as has been expressed by the G23, Sharma said the “Congress has historically stood for internal discussion. Issues are debated. In the long history of INC and during the freedom struggle when Mahatma Gandhi, JL Nehru, Sardar Patel, and Subhash Chandra Bose were there, internal debate was a tradition which continued”.
Sharma added that there are no groups in the party was headed by Sonia Gandhi and the prime now defeat the BJP and other opponents in upcoming polls.
“There are no two groups in the Congress. It is one Congress and its president is Sonia Gandhi. Right now the only objective before the party is to fight elections together to defeat the BJP and other opponents. Let there be no wrong impression that the Congress will not fight these battles together, said Sharma close on the heels of veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, saying that the G23 leaders would campaign for the party and candidates in the elections of West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.