Difficult to survive in state Congress, rues MLC Gadgil
All is not going well within the State Congress now. A cold war has been erupted between senior Congress party’s member of state legislative Council (MLC) Anant Gadgil and the general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Party (MPCC) Sachin Sawant over the right to address press conference when Gadgil wrote letter to party legislators, Member of Parliament and district president on Friday.
Both are spokesperson of the party and according to Gadgil, Sawant has grabbed his position and not allowed to speak with media or allow to hold press conference at erstwhile Gandhi Bhavan, state party office at Nariman Point.
Gadgil on Friday wrote a letter to the party MLAs, MPs,office-bearers and district presidents expressing his displeasure over the functioning of the Congress in the state.
"It is the Congress president Sonia Gandhi who nominated me as party spokesperson in 2004. Yet, I am not allowed to function and perform. This means that Soniaji is indirectly being vetoed by certain individuals. If this continues, it will be difficult for many hardcore Congressmen like me to survive in the party," Gadgil said.
He further said, "In the last 13 years that I have served as the party spokesperson, never has the Congress been in trouble due to my statements. I have not made any personal remarks against any individual or spoken out of turn against the party's culture. While a formal Press briefing was going on, I did not correct the statements made by the state Congress chief," Gadgil in his letter stated.
He stated that the earlier norm of party spokespersons visiting the state Congress office to interact with the media has stopped now which has impeded the party's official stand of reaching out to the people.
Gadgil said he was not even informed of the press conferences of Kapil Sibbal, the former minister and Randeep Singh Surjewala the national spokesperson that were held early this year.
He said that survival in the party is difficult if "high handedness" of certain individuals continues.