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Refrain from commenting on presidential candidates: Congress to office-bearers
Jairam Ramesh’s statement came after Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh recently backed Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot as a “better candidate” than Shashi Tharoor for the party’s top position.
MP and All India Congress Committee general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday urged every spokesperson in the party and office-bearers of the communication department to refrain from commenting on candidates contesting for the party’s presidential post, scheduled to be held next month.
Ramesh directed all to follow their duties keeping aside “individual preferences”.
“I would strongly urge all spokespersons and office-bearers of communications department of AICC to refrain from making any comment of any kind on any colleague of ours contesting the elections for the post of Congress president,” Ramesh said in a notice.
His statement has come after Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh recently backed Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot as a “better candidate” than Shashi Tharoor for the party’s top position.
He said while Gehlot has experience as a former Union minister and defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2018 assembly elections in Rajasthan, Tharoor has only managed to send letters to Sonia Gandhi in the last eight years when she was hospitalised. Later, he clarified on Twitter that it was his individual opinion.
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Ramesh, in his notice, urged all office-bearers to highlight Congress’ position as the only political party that has a democratic and transparent system to elect its president along with an independent election authority. He said the focus of the party should remain on the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ campaign despite the election on October 17.
“If elections have to be held on Oct 17th, so be it. We welcome it. Even so, the focus of the entire party organisation should be and indeed is to make the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which has already evoked tremendous response even more of a resounding success,” he said.
Gehlot, 71, is set to file his nomination for the election. Tharoor, who met Sonia Gandhi earlier in the week and was assured of a fair process, is also expected to contest. It will be the first time in more than two decades that there will be two or more candidates competing for the post.
