New Delhi: The Congress on Monday rejected as "entirely false, baseless and fabrication" a report that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may be named the party's working president.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the report was a "mischievous instance of fake news and unnecessary speculation".
Surjewala also tweeted:
Instead of false & baseless fake news & unnecessary speculation, pl see the challenges before Nation pointed by CWC. https://t.co/6gpvLoxJyO
— Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 14, 2017
On the other hand, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said the news report was "laughable" and "planted".
"This is laughable that the media takes planted news seriously. This is mischievous and a fabrication. We reject it but let me caution the media, don't walk into a trap of planted news. This is to distract attention and focus from what is happening - from the failures of this government, non-performance, non-deliverance, rising terror attacks and killings of soldiers and jawans," as per IANS.
Sharma added, "They don't want to discuss these issues and also what has happened in Gorakhpur."
On August 08, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had said that the party must defend liberty and freedom of individuals and institutions and had accused the BJP government of encouraging those who flouted the law and unleashed oppression.
Speaking at a special CWC meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, she had also expressed concerns over the rise in cases of "self vigilantism" and had said that not a day passed when the liberty of individuals was trampled upon.
"The Congress party must always remain on the frontline in defence of liberty and numerous values associated with liberty, and the institutions that go with it. We must never bow before those who assault the liberty of the individual and of society," she had said.
Hitting out at the BJP and the RSS, she had said that as the Congress saluted the patriots who struggled, "we must not forget that there were organisations and individuals who opposed the 1942 movement and actually collaborated with the colonial government. Their political descendants are the very people who today hold high office and have arrogated to themselves the role of torch bearers of our freedom," as per PTI.
The CWC had passed two resolutions on the 75th anniversary of the Quit India movement and had rededicated itself to uphold and defend the idea of India as envisioned by the leaders of the freedom movement.
It had also resolved to fight back and defeat the forces which sought to destroy the country's heritage.
Party vice president Rahul Gandhi had skipped the meeting as he was down with a viral infection and Sonia had chaired it.
A number of top Congress leaders including AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Karan Singh, Digivijay Singh and Anand Sharma had attended it.
(With Agency inputs)
