Day after Sonia snub, Arjun repeats: Will be loyal to the Family till I live

Mon, May 12 02:52 AM

A day after he was publicly snubbed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh today sought to buy peace with the party high command, pledging loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family "till I live" and terming the entire episode surrounding his controversial remarks questioning the decision-making process in the party as "a closed chapter as far as I am concerned".

In a press statement issued today, Singh said: "I would like to put it on record that when I met Pandit Jawaharlal Nehruji in March 1960, I pledged my total loyalty to him and his family. This was the commitment, which is an article of faith with me. For the past 48 years of my life, I have scrupulously adhered to it. I shall also do everything to maintain loyalty and commitment to the remaining members of the family till I live."

The HRD Minister had set off ripples in the Congress by questioning the decision-making process in the party, in an interview that was part of a book on him. At a function to launch the book last Friday, Singh further rubbed it in, stating that the evaluation of loyalty in the party was being done "in a narrow context".

Singh's reiteration of the pledge of loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family came a day after Sonia gave him the cold-shoulder at a university convocation ceremony in New Delhi. She not only ignored his greetings but also did not exchange a word with him even though they shared the dais for almost two hours.

Facing a barrage of criticism from his party colleagues for his remarks, Singh said in the statement today: "I have no desire to join issue with anyone on this matter and I respect the views of all my colleagues who have thought it proper to comment on it."

A host of senior leaders, including R K Dhawan, Digvijay Singh, Ajit Jogi, V Narayanasamy, Veerappa Moily and Salman Khursheed, have gone public rejecting Singh's contention and terming it inappropriate and unfair on the part of the minister.

In a similar situation last September, when senior leaders like Dhawan and Jairam Ramesh had gone public with their criticism against Tourism & Culture Minister Ambika Soni over the controversial Ram Sethu affidavit, the high command had acted promptly, issuing a clear injunction against making "uncalled for comments" and asserting that maintenance of discipline was of the utmost importance.

An AICC statement had said that the Congress was a vast democratic movement with "ample intra-party scope for conveying a wide spectrum of opinions and views, which are listened to, observed and where necessary acted upon... However, airing such views in public generates unnecessary and avoidable confusion."

In the latest episode though, there has been no such injunction from the Congress high command, leaving the field open for a host of partymen to indulge in Arjun-bashing.

The HRD Minister also stated today that from now on he would not answer any question relating to the matter. But it may not be the last word on this issue from Singh, as he informed in today's statement that he was writing his autobiography, which would be published at a future date.

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