G-23 never existed, it's a creation of media, claims Congress

Congress claimed that the grouping of the G-23 "never existed" and said that the media is responsible for "perpetuating this mythology. Days after Ghulam Nabi Azad, who led the group of dissidents quit the Congress, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that G-23 was a creation of the media and accused it of "perpetuating" the "mythology" of such a grouping.

"G-23 is a figment of your imagination. Where is the G-23 now? It never existed. Why you are going on perpetuating this mythology of G-23," Ramesh said, reacting to a query on the possibility of participation of the leaders of the dissident group in the party's upcoming mega organisational programme Bharat Jodo yatra led by Rahul Gandhi.

During his interaction with media along with party's senior leader Digvijaya Singh and AICC general secretary Tariq Anwar



and attended by Kerala leaders including Shashi Tharoor, Ramesh said, "There is no G-23. There is only a G-Congress (an apparent reference to the Gandhian Congress)."

Singh also lashed out at the leaders who quit the Congress over their alleged differences with the leadership, saying they walked out of the party not because of ideological issues.

"Tell me one statement of the person you are mentioning...Has he given any statement against the RSS or the BJP or Mr Modi or the functioning of the BJP government? What kind of politics is this,? Singh said when asked about the resignation of Azad from the party.

The senior party leaders' statement assumes significance in wake of the speculation that the dissident G-23 group may field candidates for the Congress presidential polls in October this year.