New Delhi: As the Congress party is all set to launch its membership drive from November 1 onwards, the party has now sought an undertaking from the people who are keen to take primary membership, to not criticise the party on any public forum.
This can be seen in line with the recent criticism faced by a group of senior leaders, namely G-23, who had written a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi demanding an organizational overhaul.
In a newly constituted membership form of Congress party, it has been stated in the undertaking, "I subscribe to and work for promoting the principles of secularism, socialism and democracy. I shall not, directly or indirectly, openly or otherwise, adversely criticize the accepted policies and programmes of the party, except through party forums."
Amid the crisis in Punjab, Congress leader Kapil Sibal had criticized the party leadership saying that party leaders don't know who is making the decisions as Congress has no president. After this, Sonia Gandhi during her opening remarks in Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet, asserted that there is no need to raise party issues through media and her position in the party cannot be questioned as she is the "full-time and hands-on" party president.
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Apart from this, the membership form also has a declaration of person's abstention from alcohol and drugs and he/she must not own any property in excess of ceiling laws and will undertake tasks including "manual labour" prescribed by the party."
"I'm a habitual wearer of certified Khadi; I abstain from alcoholic drinks and intoxicant drugs; I neither believe in nor practise social discrimination in any shape or form and undertake to work for its removal; I believe in an integrated society without distinction of religion or caste; I undertake to perform minimum tasks including manual labour as may be prescribed by the working committee; I do not own any property in excess of ceiling laws," are among the other declarations in the form.
Congress has also called a meeting of its Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs, General Secretaries, and state in-charges on October 26 at the party headquarters for further discussion on the membership drive.
