Congress contemplating disciplinary action against spokesman Mohan Prakash

NEW DELHI - The Congress party is reportedly planning to take disciplinary action against one of its spokesman, Mohan Prakash, after he equated party general secretary Rahul Gandhi with socialist leader Jai Prakash Narayan on Friday.

Party sources said that should action be taken against Prakash, he would be the third person against whom it has been taken - the other two being Satyavrat Chaturvedi and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Chaturvedi was removed as spokesman for making unparliamentary remarks about Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar with regard to the drought situation in the country, while Singhvi was removed after he was found to be legally representing a client in the controversial Kerala Lottery Case.

Prakash is in the dock now because Jai Prakash Narayan is remembered as a leader who spearheaded a campaign against Rahul’s grandmother Indira Gandhi after she imposed an emergency on the country in 1975.

“After Jai Prakash Narayan, Rahul Gandhi has addressed the needs, concerns and the future of the youth,” Prakash had said on Friday, though he has since retracted from that statement.

Prakash clarified that his comparison of Rahul Gandhi with JP was in the context of Bihar where first of the six phases of polling was held on Thursday.

The party is banking heavily on Gandhi magic to revive its fortune in Bihar where it has been out of power for the past two decades. By Sitesh Dwivedi (ANI)