Cong sides with ‘law’ but Khurshid says not in wrong

Quota remarks: Khurshid says he was only stating what is there in the party manifesto.

Even as the Congress seemed to distance itself from remarks of Law Minister Salman Khurshid that yesterday invited a sharp censure from the Election Commission,the minister himself remained unrepentant and claimed he was only stating what was there in the party manifesto.

Talking to reporters after an election rally,Khurshid,who has invited the wrath of the EC twice,said the sub-quota for minorities in the OBC reservation quota,which he has been promising to electorate in Uttar Pradesh,was a governance issue and not related to elections.

But his party clearly seemed to disagree. AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi issued a statement saying: “The Election Commission is a constitutional body. The Congress always wants that all Congressmen should speak as per the norms of public life and the law of the land.”

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On Saturday,the EC had taken the unprecedented step of seeking “immediate and decisive” intervention of President Pratibha Patil after Khurshid promised sub-quota for minorities in the OBC quota. Khurshid had made such a promise earlier as well,for which he had been reprimanded by the EC.

Khurshid today said that while the EC was perfectly entitled to do what it had done,he himself had done nothing wrong either. When told about Dwivedi’s remarks,Khurshid said: “Hum bhi to yahi keh rahe hain… sabko apne daayre me rehna chahiye (I am also saying the same thing… everyone should remain within their limits).”

Party in-charge of UP Digvijaya Singh,however,defended Khurshid. “With great humility,I would like to ask the EC that if political outfits are not allowed to speak about their agenda,the party manifesto should also be stopped,” he said.

with PTI inputs