Content editor sacked after Nehru, Sonia gaffe in Cong mouthpiece

This led to an expected furore, leading to the sacking of the content editor of the magazine. The party was left red-faced by the articles which appeared in its mouthpiece on the day of party’s anniversary targeting former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. 

A section of Mumbai unit of the Congress came down heavily on the journal’s editor Sanjay Nirupam for the faux pass.

Later in the day, the content editor for the magazine Sudhir Joshi got marching orders and Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam apologised for the article. 

An unsigned write-up in the Mumbai unit’s journal, coinciding with the party’s 131st foundation day, blamed Nehru for “the state of affairs in Kashmir, China and Tibet” even as another write-up made controversial remarks on party chief Sonia Gandhi, forcing Nirupam to order an inquiry even as he claimed he was unaware of the content.

The article in the December issue of ‘Congress Darshan’ said that Gandhi’s father was a member of the fascist forces in Italy, adding that she registered as a primary member of the Congress in 1997 and became the party’s president in 62 days. 

The article, which does not bear the name of the writer, had been published in the Hindi edition as a tribute piece to mark Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s death anniversary on December 15.

The article also stated that, despite Patel getting the post of deputy prime minister and home minister, the ties between him and Nehru remained frosty, and both had threatened to resign time and again. 

If Nehru had embraced Patel’s foresight, many problems in international affairs would not have arisen, it went on to add.

“Had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been heard then (by Nehru), the problems of Kashmir, China, Tibet and Nepal wouldn’t have existed now. Patel opposed Nehru’s move of taking the Kashmir issue to the UNO,” stated the article, adding, “Nehru did not agree with Patel’s views on Nepal.”

Nirupam apologized for the criticism and said that action would be taken against the people responsible in the editorial team. “Some words that have been used in some articles of ‘Congress Darshan’ are certainly objectionable. I accept the mistake. Action will be taken against people in editorial team who are responsible for this mistake,” he said.