Congress needs to shun factionalism, internal changes must for party's revival, says Anand Sharma

New Delhi: Days after he resigned  as the chairman of the steering committee for Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, Congress leader Anand Sharma on Wednesday said that the grand old party needs to come out of factionalism and stay united."I will campaign for the Congress party wherever it is required. Congress needs to come out of factionalism and stay united. We are all Congressmen. What is important is that the party stays strong," he said.He said that the renewal or revival of the Congress can only be done by bringing about internal changes in the party."If we bring about some internal changes, renewal and revival of Congress will be done. Congress cannot revive by having A group or B group. Congress collectively has to revive," he added.Sharma said that the need of the hour was to move ahead with collective thinking and approach."We elected Rahul Gandhi as Congress president in 2018, but it was he who resigned, we did not ask him to resign. It is important that the Nehru-Gandhi family remains integral. Congress does require inclusive and collective thinking and approach," he added.Sharma had resigned from the chairmanship of the party's steering committee for Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he is learnt to have said that he was not consulted on the planning for the Assembly elections and cited several examples where he was not even invited for discussions.Sharma wrote to the Congress president that his self-respect is "non-negotiable" and he has thus resigned from the post.His resignation came soon after another leader of the G23 grouping Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned as chairman of the campaign committee in Jammu and Kashmir a few days ago.Sharma has told the Congress chief that he has been ignored in the consultation process. However, he told Gandhi that he will continue to campaign for the party candidates in the state.A former Union minister and deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha, Sharma was appointed chairman of the steering committee in Himachal Pradesh on 26 April.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.