'He never made such remarks': Congress denies Rahul Gandhi's 'colluding with BJP' comment
Denying Rahul Gandhi had accused any party leader of "colluding with the BJP", the Congress party on Monday said that the leader "has not said" a word of that nature.
Backing the former party president, Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that "Rahul Gandhi never said it, neither in CWC or outside, that the letter written to Sonia Gandhi was written in collusion with BJP."
Azad's clarifications comes after he offered to resign from the party if any links were established to Rahul Gandhi's alleged 'colluding with BJP' remarks.
Sources present at the meeting said Gandhi was furious about the timing of letter and it being leaked to the media, and appeared to suggest whether these leaders were "colluding with the BJP".
Things esalated when senior leader Kapil Sibal in a tweet, now deleted, said that after doing so much for the party, Rahul Gandhi is accusing them of ''collusion.''
Terming the remarks as false, Karnataka Congress leader Priyank Kharge also took to Twitter saying that these allegations were nothing but a 'bunch of lies planted by the usual suspects.'
Denying the allegations, Congress leader Manickam Tagore tweeted saying "Kapil Sibal ji we all have great respect for you. Congress made you cabinet minister and gives lot of importance. you are NOT inside the CWC. You are reacting to a leak that is false. It does not reflect well on a leader as senior as you are, to react to hearsay!"
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said former Congress-chief Rahul Gandhi never made any 'BJP' remark.
Surjewala had replied to Sibal's previous tweet saying "Please don't be misled by false media discourse or misinformation being spread. But yes, we all need to work together in fighting the draconian Modi rule rather than fighting and hurting each other and the Congress."
The party is divided on the leadership matter with a section demanding collective leadership and another reposing faith in the Gandhi family.
Some senior leaders like Manmohan Singh, Captain Amarinder Singh and even AK Antony intrusted their faith in the Gandhi leadership and backed Sonia Gandhi to continue as President.
Hitting out at the internal crisis in the Congress party, Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi took a jibe at Ghulam Nabi Azad and said 'they used to call us BJP's 'B' team. Now, his party's former chief said he colluded with BJP by signing on the letter. Muslim leaders in Congress, who are wasting time, should think for how long they'll remain slave of Congress leadership.''
(Inputs from PTI)