Cong on gag: Will not allow anarchyCong on gag: Will not allow anarchy
Flaunting its democratic credentials, the Congress on Wednesday said that the internal circular asking party functionaries to limit themselves to their respective briefs subsumes certain amount of discretion to senior leaders.
But this does not mean that anarchy could be allowed, it added.
When asked to comment on the reasons for reportedly issuing “gag order” asking senior party leaders not to speak out of turn, AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari said, “When you imply seniority, the circular subsumes certain amount of discretion also.”
Mr Tewari, however, contended that democracy “does not mean” anarchy. “It has to be juxtaposed with certain sense of discipline,” he added.
Asked why the Congress was trying to muzzle the voice of its leaders, the spokesperson said, “Every organisation functions in a particular manner. If a circular has been issued, reminding them (leaders and workers) that they have specific responsibility, I do not think it is out of place.”
Dismissing the suggestion that the circular was aimed at AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, who has been critical of the government on a host of issues ranging from the Batla House encounter to the tackling of the Naxal issue, Mr Tewari said, “No organisational circular is ever person-specific.”
When Mr Singh had written the article in an economic daily criticising home minister P. Chidambaram some two months back, the AICC had distanced itself from his views with AICC general secretary (organisation) Janardhan Dwivedi asking partymen to refrain from airing opinions publicly on issues, which were not part of their responsibility.
Another party spokesperson, Mr Abhishek Singhvi, also tried to downplay the circular.
Mr Singhvi said, “This is simply a reiteration of the old established principle that everyone cannot speak and should not speak about everything. Different persons and different designations have been allocated different responsibilities and naturally they need to address to issues concerning their responsibility only.”
Mr Singhvi also claimed that the circular is “not person-specific or issue-specific, but general”.
Interestingly, the circular has come ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. In the Budget Session of Parliament, the Opposition had targeted the ruling UPA for having differences over the issue of tackling Naxalism, by pointing to Mr Singh’s adverse comment on the Union home minister’s approach in dealing with the menace.
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