Refrain from personal attacks, Rahul Gandhi urges partymen

Also calls for communication department and party's spokespersons to be more active on social media

Stressing on the need for effective and better communication, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today urged the party’s spokespersons to refrain from making personalized attacks on the Opposition. Reacting to senior leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s “chaiwallah” barb about BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Gandhi reportedly stated, “It is wrong to make personal attacks on the Opposition.” Gandhi today met up with the party’s spokespersons and television panelists at the Congress ‘war room.”

Gandhi also urged the communication department and the party’s spokespersons to be more active on social media. Opposition BJP had taken the lead over the Congress with its organized social media set up.

That apart the party Vice President asked the media panelists to expose the tall claims made by Narendra Modi on the Gujarat story. He urged them to systematically collect facts to demolish Modi's claims that he is responsible for transforming Gujarat and its economy, a state he has governed since 2001.

Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, also a senior spokesperson highlighted the need to pay greater attention to regional media instead of the national media for effectively reaching out to the masses.

Significantly, Aiyar had been singled out by Gandhi at the party’s AICC convention and praised for his efforts at promoting Panchayati Raj, however his deragotary remarks about Modi drew flak from the Party vice President. Aiyar’s remark alluding to Modi "There is no way he can be Prime Minister in the 21st century... but if he wants to come and distribute tea here we can make some room for him,” had given much fodder to the BJP who had now even started “chai per charcha” (discussions over tea) as a campaign strategy for Lok sabha 2014 polls.

Gandhi has of late gone on a media and publicity overdrive, which critics claim is a bit too late in the day.