After former Delhi Chief Minister and Congress leader Shiela Dixit, her son Sandeep Dikshit on Friday unleashed a fusillade on the way the Congress is being run, saying that its “elitist” culture produces “arrogance” and it does not have “genuine” leaders.

The former MP from East Delhi cautions the party against becoming a “copy cat” of either BJP on issues relating to secularism or the AAP on economic issues.

“50 per cent of seniors in the Congress and 70 per cent in NSUI and Youth Congress is deadwood,” Sandeep said pitching for bringing new people to the embattled party.

“The culture (in Congress) has become elitist and arrogance grows from it. Our cadres are uncomfortable in such a situation,” he told PTI in an interview, days after the Congress whitewash in the Delhi Assembly elections on the back of a string of electoral losses from May last year.

Sandeep’s attack comes a day after his mother attacked Ajay Maken, Congress’ CM face in the Delhi polls, for the party’s drubbing which was rejected by party leaders P C Chacko and Arvinder Lovely, prompting party President Sonia Gandhi to ask the leaders not to squabble in public.

He took no names in his criticism of the affairs in the party but it was an apparent dig at vice president Rahul Gandhi when Sandeep said democracy does not start or end with holding party elections.

“It starts with democracy of ideas allowing leaders to lead and democracy of action,” he said.

50—year—old Sandeep, a two—term MP, said Congress will have to identify its best leaders and ideas, people’s issues rather than party issues.

“What is very important is to bring new people into Congress. We have almost 50 per cent deadwood in senior Congress and 70 per cent in Youth Congress and NSUI.”