"Congress Needs Permanent President": Shashi Tharoor

Expressing the need to have a permanent president of the Congress, senior party leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday emphasised that more energy needs to be instilled in the organizational structure of the party.

Speaking to reporters today, the Congress MP said, "The leadership of Sonia Gandhi is the leadership we all love. Many have called for a permanent president. We haven't had a permanent president in the last two years. We need to instill more energy in the organizational structure of the Congress party. We all want Congress to have a permanent president. No one will speak against Sonia Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi is a leader who has led us so well. But even she has been saying for years that she has a desire to step down."

He further stated that if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is willing to come back into the party's leadership role, then that needs to take place soon.

Mr Tharoor said, "We saw a new leadership emerge under Rahul Gandhi when Sonia Gandhi had stepped down. But if he is willing to come back into the party's leadership role, that needs to happen fast."

"The Congress party is moving ahead strongly with a goal of forming a government at the Centre in 2024. Leaders have decided what would be the party's strategy for the same. If there is no change in what has been done so far, there will be no reason for voters to change their minds," added the Congress leader.

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