Congress leader who challenged party's leadership to Sonia Gandhi expelled
What's the story
Former Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim has been expelled from the party for "anti-party" activities. The expulsion comes after Moquim publicly challenged Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) leadership and wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi. In the letter, he urged the party to undergo "open-heart surgery (and) deep structural and ideological renewal" and warned of a "century-old legacy slipping away, not through defeat by others, but through decisions within our own walls."
Defense stance
Moquim defends letter to Sonia Gandhi
In his defense, Moquim said he had no regrets about writing the letter to Gandhi. He argued that his communication was aimed at raising pertinent issues within the party and not creating disturbance. "I have no regret about writing a letter to Sonia Gandhi and raising pertinent issues," he said after his expulsion. According to Congress insiders, he made his letter public and gave statements to media channels, which is not the appropriate forum for discussing the party's internal issues.
Leadership critique
Moquim questions Congress leadership in letter
In his five-page letter, Moquim questioned the leadership of OPCC President Bhakta Charan Das and raised concerns about the functioning of the state unit. He also questioned the age of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. "India has 65 percent youth. I respect Mallikarjun Kharge ji, but the thinking that is required today, especially when the Congress party is playing the role of the opposition....While in opposition, a party has to rebuild itself, and considering Kharge ji's age, that is not possible.."
Election
'Congress has been gradually becoming weaker'
He said the party is losing elections one after another, and that the baton should be in the hands of the new generation. "The Congress has been gradually becoming weaker. We have lost elections in Odisha six times...That is why, when Rahul ji keeps saying that party workers are our strength, we felt that the Congress was not giving us time and Rahul was not giving us time. So we decided to write a letter to Sonia ji," he said.