Congress MP Satav slams partymates accusing him of attacking Manmohan Singh; 'clears air'

Under attack for his remarks at a meeting of the Congress's Rajya Sabha MPs, party leader Rajeev Satav on Saturday said the "malicious attempt" to draw former PM Manmohan Singh into the "introspection debate" is "reprehensible". Satav, through a series of tweets on Saturday, said he was not comfortable discussing what goes on inside party meetings in forums outside.

He said that the meeting of Rajya Sabha MPs with Congress President was extremely fruitful and this was one of the many platforms that INC has given its members "time & again, to voice our views freely."

'The malicious attempt is reprehensible'

"Unfortunately, some motivated media reports have twisted facts. Today, a few of my esteemed colleagues and seniors have reacted on social media. This has compelled me, much against my principle of not discussing party matters on public platforms, to come out and clear the air," he tweeted. This comes after several party veterans attacked him for his comments on introspection on the party's governance during the UPA era.

"The malicious attempt to draw Dr Manmohan Singh into this exchange is reprehensible," Rajya Sabha MP said. "To say my observations cast a shadow over Dr Singh's leadership of UPA II is a lie, a total misrepresentation of facts. I hold Dr Singh in high esteem. He is above reproach," he said while coming to his own defence.

'I will discuss my comments'

The Gujarat in-charge of the Congress said Singh had made commendable contributions towards building a modern India and will always be held in high regard. "I will discuss my comments, or those made by any other esteemed colleagues, on internal party forums only," he said.

"UPA II was a good government, people's government. The success of UPA II is reinforced when we compare it to the sharp slide under Modi,"  Satav tweeted.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Manickam Tagore endorsed Satav's remarks and tweeted that there is merit in keeping party discussions within the Party.

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'When unity is required, they divide'

Earlier, top sources told Republic World that Congressmen and Rajya Sabha MPs KC Venugopal and Rajiv Satav specifically spoke out aggressively against Manmohan Singh’s leadership in UPA II. Both Venugopal and Satav are said to be in the close circle of Rahul Gandhi. The massive fight that erupted at the virtual meeting could be part of the overall soaring tensions between the old guard and the new guard of the Congress party. Congress loyalists like Manish Tewari took to Twitter to make public the dissonance within. 

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