No meeting planned for Rahul Gandhi: Congress

The Congress has denied there was any proposal for a meeting between Rahul Gandhi and sarpanch and deputy sarpanch of Anna Hazare’s village Ralegan Siddhi. “There was no consent, no appointment and no information,” party spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi said.

This response came even as Congress MP PT Thomas, who is believed to be the man responsible for this drama, distanced himself from the entire episode. He admitted that he had gone to Ralegan Siddhi in September and had mooted the idea of a meeting between Anna’s aides and Rahul Gandhi but then asserted that the media reports about a scheduled meeting were ‘baseless’ as no appointment had been fixed.

According to sources, the confusion in the media about a possible meeting between Rahul and Anna’s aides prevailed even after formal denials, as Thomas’ office insisted that the meeting was on. It is also learnt that his staff had facilitated this trip by Anna’s aides.

The Congress not only denied any kind of reluctance on Rahul’s part to meet Anna’s aides, but even asserted that there was no need for such a meeting. “What is there to discuss now? Besides, what is the role of these people in team Anna’s scheme of things. This is all a storm in the tea cup,” Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhury said.