New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS): After Salman Khurshid, Congress General Secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia has stirred a controversy on Wednesday by telling mediapersons in his home turf Chambal that while he would not like to comment on Khurshid's statement, the Congress needed introspection else the party is headed for doomsday.

"It is important to assess the situation in Congress in order to take the party forward," Scindia said.

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Khurshid had said that Rahul Gandhi should have continued as the party President, more than four months after the latter stepped down from the post. Khurshid had also dropped hints that the Congress is unlikely to do well in the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana shceduled for October 21.

Perceived to be close to Rahul Gandhi, Scindia is reportedly eyeing the post of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief, but old guards in the party have kept him at bay.

Scindia and Khurshid's comments came at a time when questions are being raised over Rahul Gandhi going abroad at a time when the party is facing two crucial Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana.

According to reports, Rahul Gandhi had gone to Cambodia for "meditation" and is expected to appear in a Surat court on Thursday in connection with a criminal defamation case.

The Congress, which faced a major debacle in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, has not recovered from the setback with the leadership yet to get a firm grip on the party even two months after Sonia Gandhi took over as its interim President.

A number of party leaders have defected from the Congress in recent times, especially in poll-bound Maharashtra and Haryana.