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Cong distances itself from Jogi
New Delhi, Dec 07: After suspending him from the party, the Congress today distanced itself from former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi on the tape controversy involving him as Congress president Sonia Gandhi said sting operation was `regrettable` and formed a small group of senior party leaders to go into it. Jogi appears before party panel
New Delhi, Dec 07: After suspending him from the party, the Congress today distanced itself from former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi on the tape controversy involving him as Congress president Sonia Gandhi said sting operation was "regrettable" and formed a small group of senior party leaders to go into it.
"Law must apply squarely in the videotape of (BJP leader Dilip Singh) Judeo and audio tape of Jogi," Congress spokesman S Jaipal Reddy told reporters after a seven-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee that went into the party`s debacle in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh assembly elections.
"We will not like to pronounce (anything) on the veracity of the tape. Law must apply squarely in the videotape of Judeo and audiotape of Jogi," Reddy said when asked whether the Congress would dub as "forged" the audio tape released by Union Law Minister and BJP leader Arun Jaitley involving Jogi in the "cash-for-MLA" scam.
On the sting operation, Gandhi, who presided the meeting, said, "This kind of activity is regrettable."
She said a small group senior Congress leaders has been constituted to go into the issue.
Asked about use of her name purportedly by Jogi, Gandhi said she had not watched television.
Replying to a volley of questions, Reddy said Jogi was suspended from the party because of the letter given to the state Governor "without due authorisation from the central leadership".
When confronted over AICC general secretary Ambika Soni`s reported statement late last night that Jogi had been suspended because he took Congress president Sonia Gandhi`s name in the attempt to lure away BJP MLAs, he said the name of Gandhi was not mentioned by Jogi but "other person from the BJP" (whose voice was also there in the audiotape).
He dismissed as "absolutely malicious, baseless and unfounded" charges that Gandhi was involved in the attempt to break the BJP in the state.
Reddy was grilled by reporters as he failed to give names of party leaders on a small committee to which Jogi would give his version. He said Jogi would get a full hearing from the committee.
Reports had it that the committee comprises Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel and Vilasrao Deshmukh who is in charge of party affairs in Chhattisgarh.
Bureau Report
"We will not like to pronounce (anything) on the veracity of the tape. Law must apply squarely in the videotape of Judeo and audiotape of Jogi," Reddy said when asked whether the Congress would dub as "forged" the audio tape released by Union Law Minister and BJP leader Arun Jaitley involving Jogi in the "cash-for-MLA" scam.
On the sting operation, Gandhi, who presided the meeting, said, "This kind of activity is regrettable."
She said a small group senior Congress leaders has been constituted to go into the issue.
Asked about use of her name purportedly by Jogi, Gandhi said she had not watched television.
Replying to a volley of questions, Reddy said Jogi was suspended from the party because of the letter given to the state Governor "without due authorisation from the central leadership".
When confronted over AICC general secretary Ambika Soni`s reported statement late last night that Jogi had been suspended because he took Congress president Sonia Gandhi`s name in the attempt to lure away BJP MLAs, he said the name of Gandhi was not mentioned by Jogi but "other person from the BJP" (whose voice was also there in the audiotape).
He dismissed as "absolutely malicious, baseless and unfounded" charges that Gandhi was involved in the attempt to break the BJP in the state.
Reddy was grilled by reporters as he failed to give names of party leaders on a small committee to which Jogi would give his version. He said Jogi would get a full hearing from the committee.
Reports had it that the committee comprises Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel and Vilasrao Deshmukh who is in charge of party affairs in Chhattisgarh.
Bureau Report