Who is stalling rejig in Congress?

New Delhi: The much-awaited organisational reshuffle in the Congress has been stalled yet again. 

Congress sources said the lists of proposed changes have been lying with party general secretary in-charge of organisation K C Venugopal for the past few weeks but "he is not releasing them for reasons best known to him".

The sources said the list of All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries was finalised many weeks ago but not released yet. 

Similarly, the interviews of some prospective in-charges of states and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs have already been conducted but there is no further movement. 

While Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is said to have a limited role in the organisational changes, working of the proposed reshuffle is being carried out by Venugopal as per the wishes of Rahul Gandhi. 

A Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity that "the changes will primarily be based on likes and dislikes" of Venugopal. "He runs the party as per his whims and fancies. Today, you will survive in Congress only if Venugopal likes you. Otherwise, you are finished," added the leader.

Another leader cited an example of how Venugopal succeeded in sidelining a party general secretary who was once considered very close to the Gandhi family. 

It is also said that he is responsible for sidelining party MP Manish Tewari. While he was not given any post in the party's parliament structure, Venugopal apparently also stalled his inclusion in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC comprises of selected members of parliament and is formed to audit the revenue and the expenditure of the central government. 

Another Congress leader claimed that Kharge has not been able to clip Venugopal's wings despite being the party president since 2022. "Kharge is a lame-duck president. He appears to be a helpless spectator while Venugopal runs the party. This is the general perception within the party. Ask any Congress leader or worker," he said. 

Apart from secretaries, many general secretaries, in-charges of states, PCC chiefs and department heads are expected to be changed in the rejig.