From rxpgnews.com
Nobody wants to comment on Rahul
By IANS,
Feb 3, 2007 - 12:46:14 PM
New Delhi, Feb 3 - Even as Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has filed a legal suit against a US-based website over what is said to be a scurrilous campaign against him, leaders of the ruling party are refusing to comment on the issue.
'It's too hot an issue to comment upon,' said a senior Congress leader when asked about a cyber campaign against party president Sonia Gandhi's son ahead of crucial Uttar Pradesh polls, where Rahul is expected to be the party's star campaigner.
Rahul's lawyer Abhishek Singhvi has sent a legal notice to two people - Rohit Vyassman and E Z Bode who are apparently behind the blog that makes unsubstantiated and disparaging charges against the Amethi MP and his activities in his constituency.
'It is high time that civil society took note of this dirty campaign,' Singhvi said.
Congress leaders admit that such personal campaigns against Rahul had increased ever since media reports suggested that he would lead the Congress campaign in Uttar Pradesh.
'It shows the desperation in our opposition camp,' said a leader, who does not want to be identified.
Although the news item has been on the US-based website - Hinduunity.org, which claims to be the official website of the Bajrang Dal - for sometime, the legal notice was sent only early this week. Singhvi said it took a week's investigation to come across the names supposed to be behind the blog.
Incidentally, several websites - mostly foreign - have picked up the news item. Sources said the Gandhi family was furious at a 'perverted and nasty' campaign against the 36-year-old bachelor MP.
Although the campaign and the blogs had been brought to the notice of many senior Congress leaders, they were reluctant to respond to it earlier.
'It is true that we came to know about it. But we did not want to take up the issue. You do not what goes wrong in the Congress party, especially when the issue is about the Gandhi family,' admitted a party leader who requested that he be not identified.
Added another: 'No sensible Congress leader would make a comment nor would they take a pro-active role to counter it. One never knows when the issue could boomerang.'
Earlier, the US magazine Newsweek had to apologise after it claimed that Rahul Gandhi was not even a graduate and that he had never held a steady job in a multinational company as he claimed. Singhvi had sent a legal notice to the magazine challenging the report.
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