Bengaluru/New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily on Friday urged the party’s top leadership to step down, accusing the high command of “prolonged negligence” that led to the Karnataka Congress crisis spiralling into a major political standoff. He said the leadership’s inaction allowed internal issues to escalate into a full-blown impasse.
Speaking exclusively to IANS on Friday, Moily said the crisis was neither sudden nor unexpected but a result of prolonged negligence by senior party leaders.
Moily asserted that the Congress high command and state-level leadership should have anticipated the friction that has been intensifying for “the last two and a half years”.
He argued that the party failed to put in place mechanisms to address emerging disagreements, allowing them to grow into a full-blown impasse.
“The leaders of the Congress who are in responsible positions, and also our high command representatives, should have foreseen these developments. It’s not a sudden development. It’s their negligence that has allowed this crisis to unfold,” he said.
Calling for introspection within the party, Moily said the Congress leadership must be held accountable for failing to maintain discipline and coordination among its Karnataka unit. He stressed that those overseeing state affairs were not effectively briefing the high command, leading to a breakdown in organisational communication.
“The leadership should step down if needed. People in charge of the state are not accountable to the party at any time. Accountability lies with the party, not just with the leader. This is how we are spoiling our team,” he remarked.
Moily further noted that the high command had failed to manage expectations and ensure a smooth transition in leadership, which has now led to an internal confrontation reaching a point of no return.
“If at all the arrangement had to be fulfilled, the will of the high command must prevail. There should have been a proper, smooth transition. Instead, you allowed this to come to a climax, and the fire has reached a stage where it cannot be extinguished,” he said.
Expressing regret, he warned that a once favourable political environment for Congress in Karnataka was now being jeopardised by internal discord, urging leaders to “collectively put the party together” before further damage is done.
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Photo: IANS
–IANS
