Rahul Gandhi focusses on social media,revamps Cong media set-up

The unit entrusted with tracking news and “conducting research” has been told to also watch out for “violations of the party line” by AICC members or MPs,which would then be referred to the AICC disciplinary committee.

These units,with their specified roles,were part of the recommendations of the AICC sub-group on communication & publicity,headed by Digvijaya Singh,which have been accepted by Rahul,according to party sources.

As per the “Process Manual for the News Response System” circulated among a select group of party leaders by Digvijaya Singh with the “approval” of Rahul,a unit headed by the chairman of the media committee will “recommend the events” to which the Congress needs to respond,provide a “daily media report” and “breaking news” updates to the unit formulating political response and conduct research to generate “sound political content”.

This unit has been formed by merging Rahul’s team operating from the party’s war room at 15 Gurdwara Rakabganj Road and AICC teams,and will operate from the war room.

The political secretary to the Congress president,chairman of the media committee,information & broadcasting minister,MoS,PMO,and the in-charges of the research and social media teams will form the unit that will formulate “political strategy/response” and define the party line for any events/policy.

According to the manual,this unit will assess the input received,and seek inputs,as and when required,from the Congress president,PM and Congress vice-president; “debate inputs” and decide the party line,and update party spokespersons and “social media managers”.

This unit will meet — physically or in a conference call — once daily,and will have a formal meeting every week to “review media reports” of the past week and “set the agenda” for the next week.

The third unit,which will communicate the party line,will have party spokespersons,social media managers,and administrators or users of Khidki,the social media network of the Indian Youth Congress. According to the process manual,this unit,to be briefed by media committee chairman,will be the “official channel” to communicate the party line,and “will seed the print,social and electronic media with party view”.

A daily briefing by spokespersons and social media managers will “ensure 24×7 updating” on social media sites. This unit will “be available round the clock for rapid response to critical issues” and provide feedback to other units “on media and public perceptions”.

Digvijaya had recently issued a circular,“approved” by Rahul,setting up the ‘news response system’ comprising six members including the chairman of the AICC media department,political secretary to the Congress president,I&B minister,MoS PMO,Sandeep Dikshit as in-charge of the research team,and Deepender Hooda as in-charge of social media.

This six-member team has been given overriding powers that virtually subsume the functions and responsibility of the official AICC media set-up. Departing from the practice of the Congress president appointing spokespersons,this team has been assigned to “select” spokespersons for the AICC,PCCs and district Congress committees,sources said. It is learnt that this team holds daily meetings,which are also attended by Pankaj Pachauri,the PMO’s communications adviser.