Tip-toeing footsteps of Bharatiya Janta Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee claimed to have opened a separate office for `social media’ here at state head quarter on Friday.
``For massive campaigning of achievements of United Progressive Alliance government as well to high-light the welfare programmes taken under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh we have launched a separate social media office here at UPCC”, disclosed state president Nirmal Khatri here on Friday evening. He claimed that besides the above, the work of the social media is also to update the print, electronic and all others concerned about the real facts and if there is any negative campaign then put the side of the Party also at least through `facebook’ `twitter’ `Whatsup’ etc. Khatri said that the above step has been already taken up at district level but now they would take up it state level so that the situation could be handle in more organised way.
However, what raises controversy is that except for Shiv Pandey, who is made incharge of the social media office, and Onkar Nath Singh, who attended training programme organised by All India Congress Committee (AICC) on direction of Rahul Gandhi, no one other who attended the training session on social media were present during opening of office, as per the release issued by spokesman of the UPCC, Virendra Madan here on Friday evening. Not only this, name of not a single spokesman of the UPCC who were supposed to interact with the media — both on print as well as on electronic – figured in the press note who attended the function.
It may be mentioned that recently the UPCC chief faces resentment within the media when some spokes person refused to send any press note after an order was released to first show the release either to former MlC, Harish Bajpayee, who is looking after the charge of Khatri in his absence, or to Virendra Madan. Khatri somehow resolved this issue by giving a statement in media that those refusing to sent press note may deem themselves to by removed from the post. After this, the other spokesman bowed to Khatri’s threat but one of them Zeeshan Haider, raised his voice and preferred to resign from the post. Zeeshan who left the media even attended the workshop on social media organised by Rahul Gandhi.
Sources said that now directly giving charge of social media to Shiv Pandey, a lesser known Congressman, who was never associated with media cell of the Party earlier on except for attending training programme in Delhi, would further fuel resentment within the Party. ``The man who not hold any organization post, or any post in the media in the past and above all who is deemed to be suddenly active in the Congress just due to his close proximity with one of close lieutenant of Khatri, would do more harm to the Party than any gain as thought by State president”, claimed a senior Congress leader citing that the infighting in the media even galore during opening of social media office on Friday.