Shouldn’t Rahul Gandhi Condemn Attack On Kapil Sibal’s House? Asks Javed Akhtar

New Delhi: Poet, lyricist Javed Akhtar on Friday condemned the attack on Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s house in New Delhi. Those who attacked Kapil Sibal’s house for expressing an opinion about the working process of the Congress party are the same who criticise Modi govt for “curbing the freedom of expression,” he said, adding,  “Shouldn’t Rahul Gandhi condemn these hooligans in the strongest words?”

Notably, the poet himself was recently in news for comparing RSS with the Taliban and had drawn widespread criticism.

The Congress stands divided post-Kapil Sibal’s comment that G-23, the group of rebel Congress leaders, is not ‘Jee Huzoor 23’ and the hooliganism outside his house thereafter. One group is questioning the high command and the other is supporting it.

Among the Congress leaders who condemned the protest of the Youth Congress leaders outside Kapil Sibal’s house are Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor. Shashi Tharoor said that even if the party does not agree with what Kapil Sibal said, he has to be listened to.

Neither Rahul Gandhi nor Priyanka Gandhi has spoken anything about vandalism. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the meeting of the Congress Working Committee will be called soon.

This instability in the Congress following the Punjab imbroglio gave voice to the G-23 leaders who have been pushing for sweeping changes inside the party. Reiterating his commitment to the party, Kapil Sibal said the G-23 leaders will keep on raising pertinent issues but it is ironic that they are not the ones who are leaving the party.

Kapil Sibal’s comment irked a section of Congress leaders who said that the party high command had always ensured that Sibal reaches Parliament, though Sibal did not have any organisational background. With posters reading ‘Get well soon, Kapil Sibal’, Congress workers agitated outside Sibal’s house, damaging the car parked there. This episode has brought the rift inside the party to the fore. Senior Congress leader Natwar Singh directly trained his gun on Rahul Gandhi and said he is calling the shots in the party without having any designation, Hindustan Times reported.

Rahul Gandhi, who was in Kerala on Thursday, was asked to comment on the issue his party is facing. “I don’t want to speak to media right now regarding the issues. I will react later,” he told ANI.