Cong says govt obstructed in organsiation of Nehru conference, attacks media too
19 Nov 2014 5:49 AM IST
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 14 Nov (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’ he said.
‘This government did not want the conference to take place. We were denied the venue Vigyan Bhavan on 14 Nov (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’ he said.
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