Congress gag order on party leaders

New Delhi, Sep 15:

The Congress Monday issued a virtual gag order on its leaders from speaking to the media and said only spokespersons were authorised to speak on behalf of the party.

The Congress “reiterates (that) only the spokespersons are authorised to speak on behalf of the party”, party general secretary Ajay Maken said.

Maken heads the party’s communication department.

The Congress has five senior spokespersons and 13 spokespersons.

The Congress was caught in a rift earlier this month as two leaders voiced contradicting opinion on the appointment of former chief justice P. Sathasivam as the governor of Kerala.

While Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma slammed the central government, former union minister Manish Tewari said there was no constitutional or legal bar on a former chief justice to become a governor.

The Congress had to clarify that the remarks made by Sharma was the official view of the party.

(IANS)