Mumbai, Dec 29: City unit Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on Monday came under intense criticism from his party over articles in a Congress mouthpiece slamming Jawaharlal Nehru and Sonia Gandhi's father, with a senior leader claiming that terminology used in the write-ups was borrowed from the "RSS dictionary".
Accusing Nirupam, the journal editor, of bringing "disgrace" to the party on the occasion of its 131st Foundation Day, former minister Naseem Khan demanded his ouster from the post even as Shiv Sena and BJP latched onto the blooper and ridiculed the city unit chief.
"The kind of terminology used in compiling the articles was derived from the dictionary of RSS. I demand senior party leaders to take this issue very seriously and conduct a detail inquiry by relieving (Sanjay) Nirupam from the post," said Khan who had held several important portfolios in the previous Congress-led governments.
While one article in Hindi journal 'Congress Darshan' questioned Nehru's China policy, another called Congress president Sonia Gandhi's father a "fascist soldier", leaving the party red-faced.
Meanwhile, Nirupam apologized over the issue and sacked its editorial content in charge Sudhir Joshi today.
Taking potshots at the Congress, BJP's Madhav Bhandari said the write-ups contained nothing new and that "the truth we have been pointing at has now come out".
"Whatever we and all other opposition parties have been saying since long was vindicated today. Congress never thought it necessary to reply to the burning issues on the party leadership, but today its mouthpiece has replied (to) everything," he said.
Stating that Nirupam cannot escape his responsibility as editor of the magazine, Bhandari said, "Any article that does not bear the name of its writer is credited to have been written by editor only, hence Nirupam cannot absolve himself from the responsibility (sic)".
In a sarcastic attack, Shiv Sena "congratulated" Nirupam, a former Shiv Sainik, for "telling truth" to nation.
"We must congratulate Sanjay Nirupam for his boldness to tell the truth about the party's (Congress) icon (Nehru), though this could be a factor of embarrassment for that party," said Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande.
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