Congress accused the Modi government of "putting obstacles at every step" in the organisation an international conference on Jawaharlal Nehru convened by it that concluded today.
Senior party leader Anand Sharma, who was the Secretary General of the meet, also criticised the media, especially of the television channels, for poor coverage despite the presence of "world leaders". "This government did not want the Conference to take place. We were denied the venue Vigyan Bhavan on Nov 14 (birth anniversary of Nehru) when it was not being used (by anybody).
"We did not get cooperation. A little circular went out from here to (Indian) embassies telling them if world leaders called them, ask them to contact the Congress directly. The aim was to dissuade them from coming. There were many other difficulties", said Sharma, a former Union Minister.
Alleging that the Congress was subjected to "problems and obstacles at every step," he said that it was not only unfortunate but condemnable as what is expected when a political party invites world leaders was "cooperation and praise".
Sharma was also sharply critical of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for making an "uncalled for and sharp comment" against the Congress in connection with the Conference. Justifying the Congress decision of not inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the meet, he said it was "proper" that the party did not call him. "If BJP and RSS invite us, it will be our insult", a visibly angry Sharma said.
"Congress never complained that it was not invited for an event organised by BJP and RSS. Their invitation will be rather an insult to us. "Why they have this complaint that we had called them. Did BJP ever have belief in the Congress ideology. Did they not always oppose these values. We are surprised that they are complaining that we had not invited them," he said.
Criticising the electronic media, Sharma said the world leaders were "equally shocked" when they watched Indian tv, wondering whether the largest democracy was "truly democratic". He insisted that the meet "did not have any political connotation". "A balance is very important between the ruling party and opposition", he said without referring to the coverage given by the media to the Prime Minister who is on a foreign visit.
Besides, he said the fourth estate "owed" a lot to Nehru as the vision of the Congress leadership ensured press freedom along with fundamental rights. "If it was not there, India would have gone to a different direction", he remarked. "Electronic media, please redeem your respect because the world is watching and nothing remains quiet and uncommented upon. The chariot of democracy has two wheels-- ruling and opposition. We hope everyone will reflect", he said.
Sharma downplayed questions on the absence of some senior Congress leaders including P Chidambaram in the conference. "It is a wrongly directed question", he merely said.