Sonia Gandhi today said she "wants to be relieved" of the post of interim Congress president and urged her colleagues to start looking for a replacement as the party's top decision-making panel met a day after an explosive letter written by 23 top leaders calling for "a full-time, visible leadership" emerged. Sonia Gandhi's announcement led to an effusive show of support for her leadership and sharp criticism of the letter-writers, mainly by Rahul Gandhi. The letter, demanding "collective decision-making", is seen to call into question the leadership of the Gandhis, who have led the Congress for much of its 134-year history. One of the signatories to the letter, Ghulam Nabi Azad, offered to resign as he was attacked by colleagues at the meet. With Sonia Gandhi reportedly firm on quitting the job, an All India Congress Committee meeting to start the process of looking for a new chief was suggested by several Congress leaders.
