Only spokespersons ‘authorized’ to speak on party’s behalf: Congress
Ajay Maken put out a list of the five senior spokespersons and 13 spokesperson on Twitter authorized to speak to the media
New Delhi: The Congress party, which has been on the defensive over several out-of-line comments by party politicians, said on Monday that only its designated spokespersons were “authorized" to speak on behalf of the party.
“Only the spokespersons as in the linked list are authorised to speak on behalf of the party," tweeted Ajay Maken, the party’s general secretary and communications department chairman. He also linked his tweet to a blog post titled “list of authorized spokespersons for the Indian National Congress" which contained a list of five senior spokespersons and 13 spokespersons.
The party had to clarify several statements by its senior leaders in the past one month including opposing views by former ministers Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government’s move to appoint former chief justice P. Sathasivam as Kerala governor.
While Tewari had said there was no constitutional or legal bar on such an appointment, Sharma had condemned the appointment.
Party spokesperson and general secretary Shakeel Ahmed maintained that Maken’s statement was “not a gag order".
“There are 18 spokespersons in the party. It is the request by the Chairman to media that ask them what is the party line...this is not against any specific person," Ahmed said.
Monday’s developments come in the backdrop of a section of party’s young secretaries demanding that senior leaders “toe the party line" and spell out their views only on official party platforms.
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