CONGRESSMEN FLAY SUDARSHAN'S STATEMENT AGAINST SONIA

PANJIM: Like their counterparts in the country, the Congressmen in the state too protested against the alleged derogatory statement of Mr K Sudarshan, the former chief Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, against the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and burnt his effigy.

Over a hundred Congress leaders from different parts of the state and belonging to various off-shoots of the party gathered on the road across the party office here and shouted slogans against the RSS leader before burning his effigy.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion Mr Shantaram Naik, the Rajya Sabha member and former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president, said that the timing of the statements and following events smacked of a conspiracy by the saffron family.  He said that the statement was made soon after it was “revealed” that the name Mr Nitin Gadkari, the Bharatiya Janata Party national president, “figured” in the Adarsh society scam and RSS links in the Ajmer blasts.

He further said that Mr Sudarshan was perhaps “used” by Mr Gadkari, who is a RSS person on deputation to the BJP, to issue hard hitting statements against the Congress president.

He also said that the RSS was totally controlling the BJP and that Mr Gadkari has been in the recent past issuing statements against Ms Gandhi.  “He (Gadkari) has used the services of Mr Sudarshan to hit out at Ms Gandhi,” he said adding that the collusion between the RSS and the BJP could be “proved” in absence of strong condemnation by the BJP. The BJP and RSS have just dissociated from the statement of former RSS chief, rather than condemning it,” he said.

Mr Naik also said that the discipline of the RSS has been exposed as its top brass failed to take action against Mr Sudarshan for undisciplined action, rather than dissociating from his statement.

The GPCC president, Mr Subhash Shirodkar, said that the statement appeared to be a product of the general thinking of the RSS and that it should be condemned by all people in toto.  The Goa Pradesh Congress Seva Dal and Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress have also condemned the ‘crude’ statement of Mr Sudarshan. (NT)