Leaders pointed out that the speech was meant as a response to BJP's strident campaign that accused the Congress of being soft on issues of national security.
NEW DELHI: A day after Rahul Gandhi stirred up a hornet’s nest by reinventing the wheel on the 1971 war with Pakistan, the Congress sought to underplay the fallout by giving a positive twist to his comments. The party’s spin doctors were out in strength defending the MP from Amethi. “What he meant was that the manner in which events unfolded in 1971 led to the reaction of Bangladesh,” said Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Shukla.
The essence of the party’s ‘clarification’ was that the focus should be on the underlying message of the speech, rather than the exact words used by legatee of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Senior party leaders pointed out that the speech was meant as a response to the strident campaign launched by the BJP, especially its national president Rajnath Singh, who had a day earlier accused the Congress of being soft on issues of national security.
“He wanted to convey that the Congress leadership, and by implication the Gandhi family, had the requisite determination to take bold decisions as in the case of the 1971 war,” said AICC General secretary Janardan Dwivedi.
Senior party leaders also sought to put the statement in the context of the current assembly elections in UP, saying that the MP from Amethi wanted to convey to the people of the state that he was determined to stay the course. “He wants to convince the people that unlike in the past, UP will not be forgotten and that he will show the same determination that was shown at the time of the fight for independence and the 1971 war,” said Dwivedi.
The party also made light of the diplomatic damage. “In both countries, certain statements are made during the heat of the political campaign. Besides both countries are aware of the history of the past, and have decided to work towards peace,” Dwivedi added.
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