Apparently stung by former party loyalist K Natwar Singh’s reported decision to switch over to BJP, Congress on Thursday said it would develop a strategy to “weed out” party members with “suspect” credentials.
“I think Congress will have to work out some mechanism to weed out such people with suspect credentials,” AICC media department chairman Veerappa Moily said here even as he called Singh’s exit “disgraceful”. While he made the comment in the immediate context of Singh, Moily’s pointed reference to those who had praised Indira Gandhi for imposing Emergency to “remain in the ministry” but later criticised her over the same issue, could create a controversy within the party.
“We have seen how some of these people euologised Indira Gandhi during Emergency and remained inside the ministry and later criticised her,” he said while talking about the need to sift out such people.
Lambasting Singh, he said the former External Affairs Minister was seeking to project his “resignation” from the party only after having “found accommodation elsewhere”.
“His term in Rajya Sabha is coming to an end and he must have secured his place in BJP before making his announcement,” Mr Moily said, adding that he was unaware whether Mr Singh’s resignation had reached Sonia. Asked if Congress would seek Singh’s disqualification from Rajya Sabha now, he said, “What is there to disqualify him. The way he has gone is disgraceful. If at all he wanted to go because of ideology and join some other party, he could have gone gracefully.”
Attacking Singh for enjoying “all powers” as a Congress leader and minister,  Moily said, “He used to be a frontline champion of secularism against communalism and BJP, and now in an absolute compromise with ideology, has decided to switch over to BJP.”
Describing as “unfortunate” that Singh had been an External Affairs Minister from Congress, he said Congress sympathies would lie with BJP for “fattening their bandwagon with such people”.