Former%20Union%20Minister%20Salman%20Khurshid%20has%20rejected%20the%20view%20that%20the%20Congress%20party%u2019s%20current%20woes%20are%20on%20account%20of%20Rahul%20Gandhi.%20He%20has%20also%20joined%20issue%20with%20those%20within%20the%20party%20who%20believe%20that%20given%20the%20increasingly%20presidential%20nature%20of%20elections%20the%20party%20will%20continue%20to%20play%20catch%20up%2C%20so%20long%20as%20the%20Gandhi%20scion%20is%20the%20face%20off%20the%20party.%26nbsp%3BHe%20asked%20the%20party%20members%20to%20put%20their%20heads%20together%20as%20it%20will%20better%20serve%20Congress%20rather%20than%20venting%20in%20public.
Speaking%20exclusively%20to%20Opoyi%2C%20the%20former%20Union%20Minister%20was%20careful%20not%20to%20appear%20confrontational%20or%20at%20loggerheads%20with%20the%20critics%20of%20the%20leadership%20but%20he%20did%20make%20the%20point%20that%20%u201Cinstead%20of%20airing%20views%20in%20public%20and%20being%20critical%20about%20the%20leadership%2C%20the%20party%27s%20interests%20would%20be%20better%20served%20if%20we%20all%20put%20our%20heads%20together%20and%20calmed%20up%20with%20a%20clear%20cut%2C%20well-thought%20out%20strategy.%u201D%20In%20his%20view%2C%20the%20party%u2019s%20problem%20had%20less%20to%20do%20with%20individuals%20and%20more%20with%20adopting%20and%20reorienting%20itself%20to%20the%20changed%20political%20landscape.%20%u201CInstead%20of%20targeting%20individuals%2C%20we%20need%20to%20come%20up%20with%20new%20ideas%20and%20suggest%20it%20to%20the%20party%2C%20instead%20of%20suffering%20from%20periodic%20pangs%20of%20anxiety%2C%u201D%20says%20Khursheed.
%u201CI%20totally%20disagree%20with%20that%20proposition.%20Even%20in%20a%20presidential%20face%20off%2C%20packaging%20plays%20a%20huge%20part%20and%20we%20in%20the%20Congress%20must%20sit%20together%20and%20work%20on%20strengthening%20our%20packaging%2C%20on%20beefing%20up%20our%20narrative%20and%20ensure%20that%20there%20is%20no%20deviation%20from%20our%20core%20ideological%20beliefs%2C%u201D%20he%20said%20while%20talking%20about%20Rahul%20Gandhi.
Referring%20to%20the%20dismal%20performance%20of%20the%20party%20in%20Bihar%2C%20the%20former%20Union%20Minister%20was%20of%20the%20view%20that%20merely%20blaming%20the%20leadership%20was%20a%20rather%20simplistic%20and%20lazy%20way%20at%20looking%20at%20the%20problem.%20%u201CThere%20were%20many%20factors%20not%20just%20one%20that%20need%20to%20be%20looked%20at%2C%20we%20will%2C%20I%20am%20sure%20undertake%20an%20earnest%20exercise%20to%20look%20at%20where%20we%20went%20wrong%20and%20hopefully%20apply%20all%20the%20correctives%20that%20are%20needed%20to%20bring%20things%20around%2C%u201D%20he%20said.
Salman%20Khurshid%20was%20of%20the%20view%20that%20the%20party%20and%20this%20includes%20the%20critics%20within%20the%20party%20need%20to%20be%20prepared%20for%20the%20fact%20that%20there%20may%20not%20be%20an%20quick%20fix%20route%20to%20power.%20%u201CThe%20ground%20realities%20have%20changed%2C%20the%20electorate%20at%20the%20moment%20is%20not%20as%20receptive%20as%20it%20used%20to%20be%20to%20the%20liberal%20values%20that%20the%20Congress%20stands%20for%2C%20we%20need%20to%20work%20hard%20to%20change%20that%20mindset%2C%20and%20we%20also%20need%20to%20be%20prepared%20for%20the%20fact%20things%20may%20not%20change%20right%20away%u201D%2C%20said%20the%20former%20Union%20Minister.
Khurshid%u2019s%20guarded%20and%20nuanced%20response%20was%20in%20contrast%20to%20the%20pungent%20rebuttal%20to%20%26nbsp%3BKapil%20Sibal%u2019s%20interview%2C%20offered%20by%20the%20Rajasthan%20Chief%20Minister%20Ashok%20Gehlot.%20%u201CThere%20was%20no%20need%20for%20Mr%20Sibal%20to%20talk%20about%20the%20party%27s%20internal%20issues%20in%20the%20media%2C%22%20said%20Gehlot.%20Two%20days%20ago%2C%20Sibal%2C%20in%20a%20hard%20hitting%20interview%2C%20had%20called%20on%20the%20party%20to%20be%20%u201Cbrave%20and%20willing%20to%20recognise%20the%20problem%20ailing%20the%20party.%u201D%20In%20a%20thinly-veiled%20critique%2C%20Sibal%20had%20also%20called%20on%20the%20leadership%20to%20consult%20%u201Cexperienced%20minds%2C%20and%20people%20who%20understand%20the%20political%20realities%20of%20the%20country.%20%u201D
%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Salmankhurshid%22%20data-user-id%3D%221msndapMWags%22%20href%3D%22/topic/salman-khurshid%22%3E%23Salmankhurshid%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23RahulGandhi%22%20data-user-id%3D%22VvzuZlVeccuy%22%20href%3D%22/topic/rahulgandhi%22%3E%23RahulGandhi%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Congress%22%20data-user-id%3D%22KGrnteP5qPtc%22%20href%3D%22/topic/congress%22%3E%23Congress%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23KapilSibal%22%20data-user-id%3D%22wpSEotBXZxGb%22%20href%3D%22/topic/kapil-sibal%22%3E%23KapilSibal%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B
