THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress on Tuesday claimed that the grouping of the G-23 "never existed" in the party and blamed the media for "perpetuating this mythology."
Days after Ghulam Nabi Azad, who led the group of dissidents quit the Congress, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that G-23 was a creation of the media and accused it of "perpetuating" the "mythology" of such a grouping.
"G-23 is a figment of your imagination. Where is the G-23 now? It never existed. Why you are going on perpetuating this mythology of G-23," Ramesh said, reacting to a query on the possibility of participation of the leaders of dissident group in the party's upcoming mega organisational programme Bharat Jodo yatra led by Rahul Gandhi.
During his interaction with media along with party's senior leader Digvijaya Singh and AICC general secretary Tariq Anwar and attended by Kerala leaders including Shashi Tharoor, Ramesh said, "There is no G-23. There is only a G-Congress (an apparent reference to the Gandhian Congress)."
Singh also lashed out at the leaders who quit the Congress over their alleged differences with the leadership, saying they walked out of the party not because of the ideological issues.
"Tell me one statement of the person you are mentioning. Has he given any statement against the RSS or the BJP or Mr Modi or the functioning of the BJP government? What kind of politics is this,? Singh said when asked about the resignation of Azad from the party.
The senior party leaders' statement assumes significance in wake of the speculation that the dissident G-23 group may field candidates for the Congress presidential polls in October this year.
Later, talking to the reporters, Tharoor, who was among the signatories to the letter written by the G-23 group demanding reforms in the party in 2020, said the reports about the possibility of him contesting for the party president's post were "only speculation".
The Thiruvananthapuram MP, however, said he would be able to clearly say about his candidature only after the election notification is announced.
The Congress Working Committee on Sunday decided to hold the election for the party's full-time president on October 17.
The notification for the election will be issued on September 22, while the filing of nominations would begin on September 24 and continue till September 30, the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry had said after a nearly 30-minute meeting of the CWC.
The Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "working overtime to destabilise" the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo yatra.
The yatra will cover 3,750 km from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Jammu and Kashmir over a period of 150 days.
"Modi has many friends in many political parties I know. And he is working overtime to destabilise the yatra. BJP is working overtime to ensure that this yatra is not a success because our protest on 5 August on price rise was hugely successful," AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said while interacting with the media here.
Apparently referring to the recent developments in the Congress including the resignation of Ghulam Nabi Azad from the party just a week ahead of the yatra, Ramesh said, "people may come, people may go, people may issue statements, people may attack us, people may attack Mr Gandhi. It makes no difference to us and the yatra will continue."
The Congress leader alleged that those who have already left the party and those who are waiting in the departure lounge, had not said any word against Modi and RSS.
"This match-fixing is going on to destabilise the Bharat Jodo Yatra", said Ramesh.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, AICC General Secretary Tariq Anwar, Shashi Tharoor MP, KPCC chief K Sudhakaran and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala also participated in the interaction.
Ramesh claimed that all those who are predicting the decline and demise of the Congress party will be disappointed.
"Bharat Jodo Yatra is the 'sanjeevani' for the Congress," Ramesh said.
Describing the Yatra as a "practical, concrete and specific initiative" by the party to "counter" the Modi government, Ramesh alleged that those Congressmen and Congresswomen, who are not participating, "have match-fixing arrangements with the BJP dispensation".
The Bharat Jodo Yatra is against the economic, social and political policies of the Modi government, he said.
"We are hoping that this will enthuse the cadres. It will activate the party", Ramesh said.
Regarding Rahul Gandhi's leadership role in the yatra, the Congress leader said he has taken it as a tapasya.
The Congres has said the journey-- commencing from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7-- through Kerala will cover 450 kms across seven districts in 19 days.
It has said the objective of the yatra, which will touch 12 states and the national capital, was to strongly oppose the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the RSS agenda for the country.