Rahul may speak at plenary today
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is expected to give a befitting reply to the Opposition on the WikiLeaks controversy involving his remarks on “radicalised Hindu groups” on Sunday while the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to put the record straight on the issue of corruption on Monday.
Mr Gandhi on Saturday said: “I will speak tomorrow (Sunday)” in the Congress plenary session. He, however, did not take questions on the WikiLeaks controversy involving his remarks.
Well-placed party sources said Dr Manmohan Singh would speak on the second day of the plenary, i.e. on Monday. Mr Gandhi briefly answered questions by reporters in the midst of the party’s subject committee meeting here, which took place to finalise all the four resolutions of the party for the two-day open session of the plenary beginning Sunday. Sources said that the Congress is likely to strike the middle path on the issue of terror at its plenary. The party in its political resolution will emphasise that terror has no colour or religion, the sources said.
An indication of the party’s stand on the issue of terror was evident with Mr Gandhi himself on Friday clarifying that “terrorism and communalism of all types are a threat to India. We need to remain vigilant against acts of terrorism of all kinds no matter who commits them.”
The statement released on his behalf by AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi came after Rahul’s remarks in leaked US diplomatic cables drew a sharp response from the BJP and the RSS. The statement was also the first acknowledgement from the Congress that Mr Gandhi had indeed talked to US ambassador Timothy Roemer on the issue.
According to the leaked cable, Rahul had told Mr Roemer that growth of “radicalised Hindu groups” which create religious tensions in India could pose a bigger threat to the country than activities of groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.
On the other hand, the corruption issue has not only put the Congress on the defensive, but the entire UPA government because of the 2G spectrum allocation scam, Commonwealth Games mess-up in Delhi and the Adarsh Housing scam in Mumbai. The 2G scam made the Winter Session of Parliament redundant uniting the entire Opposition inside Parliament.
The Radiagate has now brought out the nexus between politicians, lobbyists, corporate giants and the media. Congress leaders, including the steering committee members, on Saturday feared how can the party defend its senior ally, the DMK, in the coming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
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