: Unfazed by the party's gag order,
defiant senior Congress leaders Manish Tewari
and senior leader Rashid Alvi on Monday said
they would continue to express their viewpoints
even while maintaining that it's time to fight
communalism and "not fight and humiliate"
each other.
Stung by AICC's diktat that only designated
spokespersons are authorized to speak on
behalf of the party, Tewari, who was acting
chairman of the media department till sometime
back, hit back as did Alvi who was
unceremoniously removed as spokesperson last
year.
In a snub to party leaders speaking out without
authorization, Congress had earlier virtually
issued a gag order asking those not designated
as official spokespersons not to air their views
through the media.
Though party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed
maintained that it is "not a gag order", the AICC
made it clear that "only" spokespersons are
authorized to speak on behalf of the party.
Putting out a list of the five senior
spokespersons and 13 spokesperson on Twitter,
AICC communication department chairman Ajay
Maken said, "Only the spokespersons as in the
linked list are authorized to speak on behalf of
the party."
Though Ahmed repeatedly denied that the party
is voicing any opposition to any particular
leader, the buzz in the AICC was that it was
directed at former information and broadcasting
minister Manish Tewari and former party
spokesperson Rashid Alvi. Both have made
certain comments, which were not found in
tandem with the party's official line.
Reacting to the diktat, Alvi said "I always
defend Congress party as an ordinary worker
and I will continue to defend Congress party. I
feel it is my responsibility as this is a very
crucial time as the communal forces have not
only taken over the country but are spreading
communalism."
Alvi added "I suggest Congressmen should not
fight and humiliate each other. This is a crucial
time to fight unitedly against forces spreading
communalism and hatred all over the country."
Interestingly when Alvi was AICC spokesperson,
Rahul Gandhi, soon after being made the vice
president of the party in Jaipur's Chintan Shivir,
had hailed Alvi as one of the leaders along with
then Delhi and Rajasthan Chief Ministers Sheila
Dikshit and Ashok Gehlot, whose advice he
valued.
While Alvi was removed as spokesperson some
time after a controversial remark at an AICC
briefing and could not get a renomination in
Rajya Sabha, Tewari is currently a television
panelist of the party.
Moreover, there is talk of an internal rivalry
among young leaders for media space. Citing
the example of the arrangement of beat-wise
correspondents in media organisations, the
spokesperson said if leaders start speaking to
non-beat reporters, this will definitely cause
some heartburn among those covering
Congress, an analogy, which triggered strong
response from mediapersons.