New Delhi: A sharply worded and emotionally charged letter to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Former Odisha MLA Mohammed Moquim has delivered one of the strongest internal critiques the party has faced in recent years, warning that the Congress is “slipping away — not through defeat by others, but through decisions taken within our own walls.”
Addressing Sonia Gandhi with “profound respect and a heart filled with both pain and hope,” Moquim expressed deep anguish over what he called the party’s unprecedented organisational decline, warning that if corrective steps are not taken immediately, “we risk losing the Congress we inherited.”
“A century-old legacy is slipping away”
Moquim writes bluntly that the party is losing not because of its opponents, but because of internal failures:
“A century-old legacy is slipping away — not through defeat by others, but through decisions taken within our own walls.”
He warns Sonia Gandhi that Congress workers across India now feel “alarmed, heartbreaking, and unbearable” watching the Party’s decline.
Highlighting the crisis in Odisha, he notes:
“In Odisha, we have faced 6 consecutive defeats.”
He adds that the party has suffered:
“3 major setbacks back-to-back at the national level.”
Moquim says these failures are not mere electoral losses but signs of a “deeper organisational disconnect.”
Moquim’s strongest criticism is reserved for what he describes as a collapse of morale among Congress cadres:
“These are the silent cries of lakhs of dedicated Congress workers who feel abandoned… They feel punished for their loyalty.”
He says party workers at booth, block, and district levels — the backbone of the organisation — now feel “unseen and unheard.”
Flags Rahul Gandhi’s Inaccessibility
In a significant revelation, Moquim says he has not been able to meet Rahul Gandhi despite being an MLA:
“Despite being an MLA, I was unable to meet Shri Rahul Gandhi ji for almost 3 years.”
He calls this a symptom of a “wider emotional disconnect” between leadership and grassroots workers across the country.
Moquim writes that India is at a demographic turning point and warns that the Congress is failing to resonate with the youth:
“Today, there is a deep and growing disconnect between the Congress leadership and the Indian youth.”
He notes that with 65% of India below 35 years, the party is unable to inspire young voters and has lost several promising young leaders.
Calls for Renewed, Merit-Based Leadership
Moquim urges Sonia Gandhi to intervene immediately and push for structural, ideological, and emotional revival:
“The Congress needs revival — structural, emotional, ideological, and organisational.”
He advocates a more active leadership role for Priyanka Gandhi, and calls for leaders like Sachin Pilot, Shashi Tharoor, D.K. Shivakumar, and A. Revanth Reddy to form the visible leadership core.
Towards the end, Moquim clarifies his intent:
“I write this letter not out of anger, but out of love — love for the Party my ancestors served.”
He calls his message an “appeal for revival” and says remaining silent would be “a greater betrayal, not of myself, but of the Congress.”
