Karan Singh back in Cong fold after two decades

Singh8217;s return to the party is expected to offset, at least to some extent, the recent exit of former Union minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba Sayeed both of whom have since floated their own party. With this, the Congress high command hopes to revive the Jamp;K unit which is badly riven by dissension and has a contest on its hands for the Lok Sabha polls to six seats.

Karan Singh said he returned to the Congress as he was 8220;convinced there was an urgent need to strengthen the party to safeguard and consolidate national unity.8221;

8220;The nation is going through a prolonged period of political turmoil and instability and it is necessary in the broader national interest to strengthen the Congress, which alone can cut across religions, caste, class and regional dimensions upon which almost all other parties depend for their predominant support. The Congress alone can give the nation a full term government that it so urgently needs,8221; Singh added.

He had several words of praise for Sonia Gandhi saying she had 8220;remarkably succeeded8221; in revitalising the party and this was demonstrated by the party8217;s victories in the last four Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, the party today expressed serious concern and consternation over what it called the BJP-led government8217;s systematic efforts to manipulate the media and misuse the official machinery to ensure favourable coverage to the BJP.

Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal said his party had appealed to President K R Narayanan to sack Parliamentary Affairs Minister R Kumaramangalam for 8220;lying8221; and 8220;expressing contempt8221; against constitutional institutions including that of the President8217;s office.

Sibal added that Iamp;B Minister Pramod Mahajan was 8220;misusing8221; the Press Information Bureau PIB by converting it into an 8220;unadulterated propaganda centre for the government8221;. He called Mahajan the 8220;minister for public enlightenment and unadulterated propaganda8221; adding that the headquarters of the 8220;media whitewash centre8221; is his residence.

According to the Congress, Mahajan8217;s main job was to convert 8220;national liabilities8221; like Prime Minister A B Vajpayee into 8220;national assets8221;. Sibal said Mahajan8217;s 8220;media whitewash centre8221; is manned by former PIO of the government Rammohan Rao, Om Prakash Chautala8217;s political adviser Tarlochan Singh, Sudanshu Mittal, current PIO N J Krishna, Mahajan8217;s OSD Ajay Singh, his private secretary Arvind Kumar and additional private secretary Vivek Maitra.

Referring to Kumaramangalam8217;s 8220;lies8221;, the Congress played cassettes of two discussions on private TV channels in which Kumaramangalam took part where he 8220;showed scant respect to the President8217;s office8221; and lied. At one place, in the discussion, when former Attorney General Ashok Desai said the President was like a watchdog in the current political situation, Kumaramangalam replied it was alright as long as the 8220;dog does not bite8221;, Sibal stressed.

Kumaramangalam also misled viewers on the telecom scam, the Congress alleged. The party also condemned the BJP8217;s efforts to launch a 8220;vicious and malicious8221; attack on the Congress by raking up the Mundhra scandal and the Bofors case. Spokesperson Ashwini Kumar said three successive non-Congress governments could not bring an iota of evidence against Congress leaders in the Bofors case. While the Mundhra scandal was as old as 1956, he said.

8220;Enough is enough and the party will take it to the people8217;s court,8221; Kumar said.