New Delhi:
Even as Sonia Gandhi made it clear that she was not supporting the politics of smear campaign, Congress stepped up its attack against civil society representatives led by Gandhian Anna Hazare and questioned their credentials.
"Why have they ignored civil society activists like Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander. I think they are more qualified and their credentials are much better than Arvind Kejriwal", AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said.
At the AICC briefing, party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan steered clear of the Noida land allotment controversy surrounding eminent lawyer Shanti Bhushan, who is a member of the Joint Committee on the Lokpal bill, and his lawyer son Jayant.
"That is a matter for them to answer and not for us," she said in reply to a volley of questions on the issue. Asked whether Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan should withdraw from the Joint Committee after the controversy, she said it was for the government and them to decide. The Congress has no view on this, she said.
Speaking separately, Singh dismissed as "absolutely rubbish" the contention of the civil society representatives that the Congress was targeting them. He said that Sonia Gandhi and Congress party does not believe in all these.
"I have not cast aspersions on them. There should be absolute transparency in what they are doing. If they demand transparency, they should give transparency as well," he said.
"The background picture of 'Bharatmata' (put up on the dais where Hazare went on fast) resemble with Bharatmata which RSS usually puts in their background. Then Mahatma Gandhi's photograph is also missing from the background," he said.
The AICC General Secretary also dismissed allegations about Congress trying to divide the civil society group. "Who is dividing? The first person who objected to the father and the son (Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan) to be in the drafting committee was Baba Ramdev and not Digvijaya Singh", he said.
He also said that Gandhi was the first leader in the country who openly supported Hazare's movement against corruption and Congress would go to any extent to see that corruption is minimised.
Natarajan debunked as "frivolous and absolutely baseless" Hazare's charge about the smear campaign. "There is no need for the Congress to discredit anybody. It just shows complete bankruptcy of ideas," she said.
"It is between those levelling the charges and those against the charges have been levelled. We have nothing to say," she said when asked whether the party endorsed the allegations levelled by Digvijaya Singh against Hazare and his colleagues.
Meanwhile, Singh said that he was yet to receive any legal notice from Bhushan's and "I would like to see or hear what I said that has offended them."
"Why have they ignored civil society activists like Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander. I think they are more qualified and their credentials are much better than Arvind Kejriwal", AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said.
At the AICC briefing, party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan steered clear of the Noida land allotment controversy surrounding eminent lawyer Shanti Bhushan, who is a member of the Joint Committee on the Lokpal bill, and his lawyer son Jayant.
"That is a matter for them to answer and not for us," she said in reply to a volley of questions on the issue. Asked whether Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan should withdraw from the Joint Committee after the controversy, she said it was for the government and them to decide. The Congress has no view on this, she said.
Speaking separately, Singh dismissed as "absolutely rubbish" the contention of the civil society representatives that the Congress was targeting them. He said that Sonia Gandhi and Congress party does not believe in all these.
"I have not cast aspersions on them. There should be absolute transparency in what they are doing. If they demand transparency, they should give transparency as well," he said.
"The background picture of 'Bharatmata' (put up on the dais where Hazare went on fast) resemble with Bharatmata which RSS usually puts in their background. Then Mahatma Gandhi's photograph is also missing from the background," he said.
The AICC General Secretary also dismissed allegations about Congress trying to divide the civil society group. "Who is dividing? The first person who objected to the father and the son (Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan) to be in the drafting committee was Baba Ramdev and not Digvijaya Singh", he said.
He also said that Gandhi was the first leader in the country who openly supported Hazare's movement against corruption and Congress would go to any extent to see that corruption is minimised.
Natarajan debunked as "frivolous and absolutely baseless" Hazare's charge about the smear campaign. "There is no need for the Congress to discredit anybody. It just shows complete bankruptcy of ideas," she said.
"It is between those levelling the charges and those against the charges have been levelled. We have nothing to say," she said when asked whether the party endorsed the allegations levelled by Digvijaya Singh against Hazare and his colleagues.
Meanwhile, Singh said that he was yet to receive any legal notice from Bhushan's and "I would like to see or hear what I said that has offended them."
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