Kesri furious with Arjun's designs
Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh resents party president Sitaram Kesri's strategy to keep former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's widow Sonia out of politics.
According to a senior party general secretary, Arjun Singh has incurred the Kesri camp's wrath because of his links with Sonia.
Though they have ostensibly been seeking her help to guide the Congress, Kesri's followers are against Sonia's leadership.
''Sonia Gandhi is welcome to help the party, but Arjun Singh is
overdoing his bit,'' the leader pointed out.
The Kesri camp is furious with Arjun Singh -- he gets the maximum flak for forcing an election on the country following the
storm over the Jain Commission report probing Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.
''He forced the Congress to raise the issue by bringing Sonia into the picture,'' the leader said.
In fact, the general secretary claimed, Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral had warned Kesri about Arjun Singh's designs to precipitate a crisis -- with a view to regaining his parliamentary membership. He lost the last Lok Sabha election.
Recent media reports have suggested that Arjun Singh has teamed
up with another senior party leader Pranab Mukherjee in his efforts to rope in Sonia. However, Mukherjee still enjoys Kesri's confidence and keeps a low profile.
Though the Congress chief is aware of Arjun Singh's designs, he could not help raising the Jain Commission report. ''But now that elections have been announced, Arjun Singh would be shown his place,'' the leader said.
What is more, Sonia had not yet given any signals on whether she should would campaign for the Congress, the general secretary said.
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