Join another party or start your own, says Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Kapil Sibal's remarks

The rumblings within the Congress party post its poor performance in Bihar Assembly elections continued on November 18 with the Grand Old Party's leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, attacking senior party leader Kapil Sibal over the latter's comments calling for introspection.

Chowdhury said that those critisising the party are free to join some other party or start their own rather than indulging in "embarrassing activities". Without taking any names, Chowdhury also said that "such leaders" are close to both interim party president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and can raise these issues with them.

"If some leaders think that Congress is not the right party for them then they may set up a new party or can join any other party which they think is progressive and according to their interest. But they should not indulge in such embarrassing activities since it can erode the credibility of the Congress," Chowdhury told news channel NDTV. 

"Such senior leaders should not indulge in such embarrassing sweeping statements. They enjoy proximity to the Gandhi family. They can raise issues before the party leadership or in the right party forum," the leader added.

Chowdhury also said that if the said leaders are interested in revamping the party, they should "try to prove their mettle on the ground".

Chowdhury is the latest in a string of Congress leaders who have attacked Sibal over his comments following the party's dismal performance in Bihar. On November 16, Sibal, also a former union minister, tagged his media interview and tweeted, "We are yet to hear on recent polls... Maybe Congress leadership thinks it should be business as usual."

Thereafter, Sibal's remarks invited quick rebuttals from the party which fielded veteran leader Ashok Gehlot to say that the Congress has always sprung back from crisis.

On November 17, senior party leader Salman Khurshid also took a dig at those questioning the party and its leaders and called them "doubting Thomases" who suffer periodic "pangs of anxiety".