By IANS
New Delhi : In another volte face, the Congress Monday said party president Sonia Gandhi’s controversial “merchant of death” remark was not aimed at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi but was a reference to the “political failure” of the system.
“She was referring to the political failure of a system (Gujarat administration) and its functioning,” party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed told reporters here.
Monday’s clarification comes after earlier flip-flops on the issue by the party. While Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal was on the defensive Friday, saying that the remarks were not aimed at Modi but only at state functionaries, party spokesperson Abishek Singhvi asserted on Saturday that it was meant only for Modi.
However, Singhvi Monday retracted his earlier position and agreed with Sibal.
“The text of Gandhi’s speech is for everybody to see. No names appear in the text,” he told reporters outside the Congress headquarters here.
The Election Commission has issued a notice Gandhi for the remark made at an election rally in Gujarat’s Navsari town on Dec 1, after Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took strong exception.
Although Ahmed argued that the party president has not violated any model code of conduct, he said: “Gandhi has criticised the system and as the head of the system, Modi also comes under it.”
He, however, added that any comparison between Modi’s controversial remarks justifying Sohrabuddin Sheikh’s fake encounter killing, which had drawn severe criticism, and Gandhi’s statement would be “outrageous”. The poll panel has also issued notice to Modi for his remarks.
Ahmed said the Congress would reply to the poll panel’s notice to Gandhi by Tuesday evening.