'I don’t see an exodus from the Congress'

As a veteran, how do you see the developments in the Congress party?

I see it as political normal. This is what needs to be done in a political party. There are different views and there is churning going on in the Congress party. People are expressing their views. The party is far from imploding, as some newspapers are predicting and hoping.

What do you make of the recent developments in the party, with Amarinder Singh leaving? Is it a sign of exodus from the Congress?

An important member of the party, Amarinder Singh, has left but I don’t see an exodus out of the Congress. There is the G-23, a term which incidentally I had coined, and they are raising issues. The Congress is a democratic party and people express their views fairly and in a detailed manner.

The Congress has not had a working president in the last 28 months. In a highly competitive political environment, isn’t that an anomaly?

That is for the party to decide, not the media or the ruling BJP. 

(This is the concluding part of a three-part series. Click for part one and part two.)