New Delhi: After facing severe criticism over its ‘headless man’ post, the Congress has directed all state unit chiefs, general secretaries, MPs, heads of frontal organisations and other office bearers, not to speak out of line on the Pahalgam terror strike.
K C Venugopal, Congress general secretary (organisation) sent a letter on this subject to all leaders on Tuesday. The letter was later posted by party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on her official X handle.
“Any deviation, misrepresentation or off the cuff remarks that diverges from the official line shall be deemed as a serious breach of discipline,” Venugopal has stated in the letter. This came after the BJP claimed that certain comments made by Congress leaders were being used by the media in Pakistan to target India.
The ‘headless man’ meme with the word ‘Gayab’ was one such post on the official Congress X handle. It was clearly a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being absent from the All Party Meeting convened by the Government after the Pahalgam massacre. The post went viral on Pakistani social media after which Indian netizens lambasted the party. The post was taken down by Tuesday evening.
In his letter, Venugopal stated that the Congress party “is deeply anguished by the reprehensible terrorist attack in Pahalgam and stands in unwavering solidarity with the nation during this hour of grief”.
He noted the Indian National Congress must exemplify unity, maturity, and responsibility at this critical juncture And referred to the resolution adopted by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on April 24.
“This resolution must serve as the sole basis for all public expressions of the party’s stance on the matter,” he said, adding, “Any contravention of this directive will invite strict disciplinary action without exception”.
Comments by Karnataka chief minister Siddharamaiah, his state cabinet colleague Ramappa Balappa Timmapur, Maharashtra Assembly Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, former Union ministers Mani Shankar Aiyar and Saifuddin Soz were used by Pakistan for propaganda against India, the BJP has claimed.
Even earlier, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh had noted that several Congress leaders were commenting on the terror attacks and said “they speak for themselves and don’t articulate Congress’ view”.
