Moily effect: Gag orders on Congress spokespersons

The Congress' new media department chairman Janardhan Dwivedi has put a gag order on party spokespersons, particularly Union Minister Ashwini Kumar who has managed to save his job by the skin of his teeth but who is unlikely to be called to give any more briefings in the run up to the election results on May 16.

Dwivedi, known to be a conservative man of very few words, is learnt to have told his spokespersons that the situation is sensitive and that they should use their words with care.

"Naap tol ke boleye aur kam se kam boleyen" (weight your words carefully and speak as little as possible) is his mantra to avoid controversies and howlers like the ones which the party was having to fire fight every day.

Dwivedi said that Moily has not been removed, but has merely gone to Karnataka as he has to face counting of his elections and confirmed that he would now be the media chairperson.

On Thursday after television channels ran clips of Moily using strong words against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, by evening 10 Janpath is learnt to have firmed up its view that the current spate of "verbal diarrhea" had to end and Janardan Dwivedi was told to immediately take charge of the media department. Moily was informed and all the party spokespersons were told that they should make no statements until they had spoken to the new chairman.

Dwivedi is learnt to have reviewed the list of those spokespersons who would be sent to television channels as it is there that many have been unable to control the "free flowing expression" which emerges after heated debates and a fresh list has been drawn up.

With the election scenario looking complex and not so easy to read and all political parties jostling to register their presence, Janardhan Dwivedi told the media that all options are open till May 16.

At that time we will know which party has secular credentials and which does not depending on whether they go with the Congress or not". He said that the secular and non-secular debate would be settled only after the results when the government is formed.

Dwivedi sought to put a brake on attempts to woo Nitish Kumar saying, "Whoever wants to come with the Congress would first have to leave the NDA". He said that the JD(U) and Nitish Kumar were still very much a part of the NDA and till that situation continues, there is no question of any tie up with them.

He also negated Ashwini Kumar's clean chit to the TDP and the AIADMK, saying that the Congress was not ready to give a clean chit to the TDP as it had been with the BJP for five years and Congress was fighting against them in Andhra Pradesh.

On CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat's slightly modified stand vis-à-vis the Congress that they may consider giving support to the Congress after the May 16 results, Dwivedi said, "ishwar unhe aur sadbudi de" (May God give them more wisdom).

With Mamta Banerjee fighting in West Bengal as an ally of the Congress against the Left parties, there is a growing view in the party that Mamta who was born out of the Congress is more of their natural ally rather than parties like the Left which are basically anti-Congress and only support them to keep the BJP out of power.

Sources say there is an increasingly large section of the Congress which feels the Congress should keep Mamta by their side for the 2011 Assembly polls in West Bengal as the wicket is increasingly sticky for the Left.

While the Congress has officially discounted AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh's formulation that the Congress would be ready to sit in the opposition after the results, sources say that party is confident of increasing its tally substantially and "is keeping all its options open to ensure there is a Congress-led government at the Centre".