Avoid personal attacks, says Rahul

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday warned party spokespersons against making personal attacks on the Opposition contending that it would derail the political discourse.

The advice came at a meeting of spokespersons and television panelists convened by Gandhi on Thursday evening to elicit suggestions on how best to get the message of Congress across to people in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar’s ‘chaiwala’ jibe at BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the AICC meeting on January 17 had taken the media focus away from the party deliberations.

Gandhi said the Congress spokespersons were doing a good job in the backdrop of a constant negative campaign of the opposition.

Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad wanted the party to focus more on the regional media instead of the national media to get its message across to the people.

AICC general secretary Ajay Maken, who is in charge of the Communication Department, detailed the steps taken to ensure an effective strategy to get the party's message across.

Last month, the AICC had recast its communication department by drafting senior ministers including P Chidambaram, Azad among others in the team of spokespersons.