Lucknow: The Congress commemorated Sitaram Kesri—who was controversially ousted in 1998 from the post of party president to make way for Sonia Gandhi—for the first time since his death 25 years ago. Rahul Gandhi led the memorial at the party headquarters Friday, offering floral tributes on the anniversary of Kesri’s passing.

Sitaram Kesri, who served as Congress chief from 1996 to 1998, was removed, citing a string of electoral defeats and weak leadership, even as Sonia Gandhi, who replaced him, had campaigned for the party in the 1998 general election. After Kesri’s death on 24 October 2000, a Congress delegation had attended his cremation in Danapur. But, formally, the party had not observed his birth or death anniversaries, so far, reportedly due to his uneasy relationship with the C

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