Journalism of Courage
The Congress may be taking pains to explain that Priyanka Vadra was not being considered for the partys campaign,but the partys Allahabad unit has left it red-faced,proposing her name for the Phulpur parliamentary constituency.
At a meeting with UP Congress Committee observer Anil Singh Sunday,the partys city unit chief Abhay Awasthi proposed the name of Priyanka,which was passed unanimously. Awasthi is at loggerheads with district Congress chief Shyam Krishna Pandey,whose name was proposed at an earlier meeting Singh had with the partys district committee.
On Tuesday,there was more. Some Congress workers got a hoarding installed,which urged Priyanka to contest from Phulpur. It referred to Sonia Gandhi,saying she was not keeping well,and said that Rahul had too much workload. The poster was removed within hours,but not before a few camera crews captured it.
But the AICC downplayed the clamour for Priyanka. Party spokesman Meem Afzal said in Delhi that he was unaware of any such move. He said that the BJP was spreading disinformation to divert the attention of people from the Ratangarh temple tragedy in which the Congress has demanded the resignation of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
