Do not discredit your own legacy: Congress veterans to young leaders

NEW DELHI: Amid an ongoing tussle between the young and old guard in the Congress, party veterans urged their colleagues on Saturday not to discredit their own legacy and said by doing so, they would only be aiding the BJP’s designs to undermine the party in the public eye.

Advising restraint in airing grievances in public, several former Union ministers cautioned party colleagues, saying such tendencies divide the Congress at a time when unity is needed. They also said one needs to learn from past defeats and revive the party rather than play into the hands of its “ideological enemies”.

Rising in defence of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the performance of which was questioned by young leader Rajiv Satav at a recent meeting of the party’s Rajya Sabha MPs, former Union minister Anand Sharma said no one discredits their own legacy.

“Congressmen must be proud of the UPA’s legacy. No party disowns or discredits its legacy. Nobody expects the BJP to be charitable and give us credit, but our own should respect and not forget,” the deputy leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha said.

Another leader said it is sad to see certain elements in the Congress knowingly or unknowingly aiding the BJP’s design of keeping the party at loggerheads in public perception, when everyone should be seen united agai