Cong Democratic Party, Does Not Stifle Views: Ramesh on Tharoor Remarks Row

In an interview with PTI Videos, Congress general secretary Ramesh asserted that the Congress is not a party that "stifles views".

Ramesh's remarks come days after Congress's media and publicity head Pawan Khera had slammed Tharoor over his "admiration" for Modi, saying it appears to have transcended the physical world as he now seems capable of hearing what the prime minister never even said during his meeting with Trump.

Tharoor, the party's Thiruvananthapuram MP, however, had said he found it extraordinary that a statement about protecting Indian civilian sailors was given a partisan twist.

Also, Tharoor's remarks about "encouraging progress towards normalcy" in Jammu and Kashmir, made after a meeting with LG Manoj Sinha, had not gone down well with his party in the Union Territory.

Amid the controversy, Tharoor had said the External Affairs Committee is in Jammu and Kashmir not to evaluate conditions in the Valley and its focus is limited to matters related to foreign affairs, including India-Pakistan and Sino-Indian relations, and passport services.

Asked about leaders not towing party line in light of Tharoor's remarks, Ramesh said ,"We have very knowledgeable, very experienced leaders in our party, who have much to say on national and international issues. But we are a democratic party. We allow different points of view to be aired." "We have free and full discussion, frank discussion in party forums. Occasionally, you will have people giving a different point of view but you know I see that as a strength of the Congress party. We are a democratic party. We don't, we're not a top-down party. We are not a party that stifles views," Ramesh told PTI.

But having said that, Ramesh said, his job as general secretary in-charge communications becomes somewhat difficult when different points of view are aired.

"But you know I've taken it in my stride and I see that as a strength of the Congress party that we have people of diverse views, we have people who express themselves openly and we are able to absorb that," he said.

But the core position of the Congress is the position that is articulated by the Congress leadership by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi... or when you know designated party leaders speak on behalf of the party," Ramesh said.

People expressing different points of view leads to media headlines and gives a lot of fodder for the media but it shows the largeness of the Congress party, he said.

The Congress has always accommodated diverse viewpoints going back over a 100 years, Ramesh added.