New Delhi: After tying itself in knots,
Congress on Friday tried to wriggle out of the controversy over
four union ministers going to the Delhi airport to meet
Ramdev, stating that the editorial in the party mouthpiece
disapproving the move was "personal views" of its editor.
Sensing that the editorial could trigger a fresh row
amid Opposition`s allegation that the party and the government
were not on the same page in dealing with the Ramdev issue,
Congress first tried to stop the circulation of the latest
issue of `Congress Sandesh` on Thursday.
After a meeting of senior party leaders, it was
finally decided to release the journal with a rider that the
contents did not reflect the views of the party.
Senior minister Pranab Mukherjee, Kapil Sibal, Pawan
Kumar Bansal and Subodh Kant Sahay had met Ramdev on June 1 at Delhi airport to persuade him to drop plans to go ahead with
his indefinite fast on June 4 but the Baba had not relented.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh and also the
journal`s editor Anil Shastri had voiced reservations over the
airport meeting, reflecting what was seen as a divide between
Congress and the government on the issue.
"It is true that whatever is published in party
mouthpiece is considered party`s opinion. Hence the editor of
the Congress Sandesh has been told not to put his personal
views in its editorial", AICC general secretary Janardan
Dwivedi, who is also head of the AICC Media Department, told
reporters here.
PTI
