Mumbai: City unit Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on Monday came under intense criticism from his party over articles in a Congress mouthpiece slamming Jawaharlal Nehru and Sonia Gandhi's father, with a senior leader claiming that terminology used in the write-ups was borrowed from the “RSS dictionary”.
Accusing Nirupam, the journal editor, of brining “disgrace” to the party on the occasion of its 131st Foundation Day, former minister Naseem Khan demanded his ouster from the post even as Shiv Sena and BJP latched onto the blooper and ridiculed the city unit chief.
“The kind of terminology used in compiling the articles was derived from the dictionary of RSS. I demand senior party leaders to take this issue very seriously and conduct a detail inquiry by relieving (Sanjay) Nirupam from the post,” said Khan who had held several important portfolios in the previous Congress-led governments.
While one article in Hindi journal 'Congress Darshan' questioned Nehru's China policy, another called Congress president Sonia Gandhi's father a “fascist soldier”, leaving the party red-faced.
Meanwhile, Nirupam apologised over the issue and sacked its editorial content in-charge Sudhir Joshi today.
In a sarcastic attack, Shiv Sena “congratulated” Nirupam, a former shiv sainik, for “telling truth” to nation.
“We must congratulate Sanjay Nirupam for his boldness to tell the truth about the party's (Congress) icon (Nehru), though this could be a factor of embarrassment for that party,” said Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande.
