New Delhi: Congress on Sunday steered clear of
the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev's hunger strike, but
decided to meet the challenge posed by communal forces which
have been repeatedly defeated in the elections.
After a lengthy meeting at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's
residence, party General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi
sidestepped questions whether the party endorsed the police
action last night.
"That has already been explained by the Government," he
said to repeated questions on the issue.
"We do not discuss individuals. We do not take note of
individuals. The person mentioned is nothing (of no
significance) and is supported by other forces," Dwivedi said.
The AICC maintaining virtual silence on the issue was
significant given the fact that it had distanced itself from
four senior ministers led by Pranab Mukherjee going to the
airport on June one to meet Ramdev.
Union Minister Kapil Sibal, who had held negotiations
with the yoga guru, was present at the deliberations. Earlier
in the day, Sibal had a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh as also Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
In an obvious attack on the BJP, Dwivedi said there are
certain political and communal forces in the country, who
after failing to get popular mandate, try to spread rumours
among people to promote themselves.
He said these forces were bent upon short circuiting
their rise by weakening constitutional and democratic
institutions and they do not bother whether the country's
democratic structure is damaged.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, June 05, 2011, 21:47