New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi will not host an iftar party this year. A senior Congress leader said she would not organise iftar but distribute ration among the poor instead.
Gandhi had hosted an iftar party last year but did not do so in some years before which were marked by natural calamities, including drought. According to reports, there are three reasons for Gandhi’s decision not to host iftar.
The first is that Rahul Gandhi, the Congress vice-president, is out of the country. With reports of his imminent takeover doing the rounds, the top leadership in Congress feels his absence from the iftar celebrations will send confusing signals.
Secondly, in the wake of the recent developments over the Goods and Services Tax bill, the party feels isolated politically. All major parties except the Congress have now supported the bill. The Congress has been demanding modifications in the bill and no longer has the backing of Trinamool Congress or Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
The Congress is also unsure if Samajwadi Party or the Bahujan Samaj Party will be open to invites for iftar, because the UP elections are coming up in 2017 and alliances are still unclear.
