The Congress has finally sought an explanation from Maharashtra Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on the row over articles in a party journal slamming Jawaharlal Nehru and calling party chief Sonia Gandhi’s father a ‘Fascist’. The Congress has issued a show-cause notice to Nirupam, who is also the magazine’s editor and a former member of the Shiv Sena.
The AICC Disciplinary Action Committee, headed by AK Antony, issued the notice to Nirupam, a former lok Sabha member from Mumbai and one of the party’s important faces from the Hindi heartland in Maharashtra, on Monday.
The articles, which appeared in Congress Darshan, criticised Nehru’s policies on Kashmir and China and calling Sonia Gandhi’s father a ‘fascist soldier’. The party was left red faced on December 28, the day Congress was celebrating its 131st foundation day, when unsigned articles appeared in its mouthpiece blaming Nehru for “the state of affairs in Kashmir, China and Tibet”.
The notice comes despite an apology from Nirupam and the Congress having distanced itself from its “defunct” mouthpiece. Sudhir Joshi, the editorial content incharge of the magazine, was sacked soon after the article was published.
The Congress had also said earlier that it had appointed Nirupam as MRCC chief and not editor of any magazine. Recently, some Mumbai Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary Gurudas Kamat, had met Sonia and complained about the matter.