Would have been better if G-23 leaders helped Congress in upcoming Assembly elections: Singhvi

Soon after the senior Congress leaders claimed that the party "getting weaker", Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Saturday expressed displeasure saying it would have been better if the leaders helped the party in the upcoming Assembly elections in four states and Puducherry.

"It would have been better if they helped Congress in five states which are going to polls. They are respected leaders, we respect them. One of the leaders spoke the term 'used'. The one who has used the term does not know the legacy of Congress," Singhvi told reporters here.

"The man about whom (Ghulam Nabi Azad) the word has been used has been a Congress MP for seven times. Sonia ji made him the Chief Minister. Indira Ji bestowed cabinet berth in the Union Government. He has been a general secretary in the party and has exercised supervision of over 20 states across the nation," added Singhvi.

Senior Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Anand Sharma on Saturday stated that the G-23 or the group of 23 dissenting leaders are seeing the Congress party "getting weaker" and are raising their voice for the betterment of the party.

"The truth is that we see Congress party getting weak. That is why we have gathered here. We had gathered together earlier too and we have to strengthen the party together," Sibal said at the 'Shanti Sammelan' event in Jammu today.

Anand Sharma who addressed the 'Shanti Sammelan' said that "Congress has weakened in the last decade."

"Our voice is for the betterment of the party. It should be strengthened everywhere once again. The new generation should connect (to the party). We have seen good days of Congress. We do not want to see it weakening as we become older," he said.

Sibal and Sharma along with former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Raj Babbar, and Vivek Tankha are among other Congress leaders who were present at the event orgsed by former Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Azad is the senior-most member among the 23 leaders, who had expressed dissent with the functioning of the Congress party and had written a letter to Sonia Gandhi in August last year.

The 'Shanti Sammelan' event has been orgsed days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "North-South" remark, which has led to a controversy over the past few days. The event is being held at a time when Rahul Gandhi is campaigning in Tamil Nadu.

Sibbal said that the leaders who have gathered in Jammu were saddened after realising that former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is " being freed from Parliament" by the Congress party.

( With inputs from ANI )