Those going beyond party line will face action: Rahul Gandhi

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday warned leaders and workers not to go beyond the party line, or they would face action.

"Spokespersons and panelists may have their individual views, but as party spokespersons and panelists you have to be within the party line. We cannot go beyond party ideology. Those who go beyond will be noticed and action will be taken," Gandhi said.

Gandhi is said to have made these remarks while inaugurating a two-day meeting of party spokespersons and panelists here, and came a day after Congress eneral secretary Shakeel Ahmed and party MP Rashid Masood sought to establish a link between the 2002 Gujarat riots and the formation of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM).

The Congress has distanced itself from these remarks by saying that these views are not of the party.

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh, union ministers Beni Prasad Verma and Jairam Ramesh have at several times been ticked off by the party leadership for their controversial remarks on various issues in the past.

Gandhi also wanted partymen to be "very decent" in the language at a time when the trend of indecent language was catching on on the social media.

"We cannot do that. We are party of Mahatma Gandhi," the Congress vice-president is reported to have told the meeting.

Madhya Pradesh police have registered a case against Digvijay Singh for his alleged 'insensitive' tweet on children posted while the sodomy charges against former finance minister Raghavji came to light recently.

The complainant had underlined that the tweet of Singh in which he allegedly wrote "Baccha Baccha Ram Ka Raghavji Ke Kaam Ka" has hurt the majority community.

When party leaders from Gujarat noted how Narendra Modi's government dissiminates wrong information, Gandhi said that people may be spreading lies, but we will rely on truth. "We have to seek the truth," he said.

About 200 young and experienced party workers, including five from each state, 16 from the NSUI and the Youth Congress, besides AICC national spokespersons and media panelists, are attending the conclave.

It is aimed at toning up the Congress Party's communication strategy in states in the run up to the assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

The programme also features round-table discussions in ten groups organised for spokespersons from states and NSUI and Youth Congress representatives on a host of current topics.