G-23 leaders condemn protest outside Kapil Sibal's house, term it 'orchestrated hooliganism'

Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma along with some of their G23 colleagues on Thursday strongly condemned and termed as orchestrated hooliganism the Congress workers protest outside Kapil Sibals house after he raised questions over the partys functioning with Sharma asking AICC chief Sonia Gandhi to take strong action against those involvedFormer Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh also criticised what he said was an attack at the house of Sibal by Congress workers only because he chose to express views that were not palatable to the party leadershipThis does not augur well for the party Singh was quoted as saying by his media advisor Raveen ThukralAlso Read Navjot Singh Sidhu to meet Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi for talksAzad former leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha also strongly condemned the orchestrated hooliganism at Sibals residenceHe Sibal is a loyal Congressman fighting for the party both inside and outside Parliament Any suggestion from any quarter should be welcomed instead of suppressing hooliganism is unacceptable tweeted Azad who along with Sibal is part of the Group of 23 which last year had written to Gandhi seeking organisational overhaul of the partyAsserting that differences of opinion and perception are integral to a democracy Sharma also a part of the G23 said intolerance and violence is alien to Congress values and cultureShocked and disgusted to hear the news of attack and hooliganism at Kapil Sibals house This deplorable action brings disrepute to the party and needs to be strongly condemned Sharma said in a series of tweetsHe asserted that the Congress has a history of upholding freedom of expressionThose responsible must be identified and disciplined Sharma saidUrging Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take cognisance and strong action he said in a tweetTaking to Twitter Congress MP from Punjab Manish Tewari unequivocally condemned what he said was orchestrated hooliganism at Sibals residence last nightThose who masterminded the assault must bear in mind that he fights for INCIndia both inside and outside courts of law You may find his views uncomfortable but that can not be a license for violence Tewari who was among the 23 leaders who wrote to Gandhi for an overhaul of the party saidIn another tweet he said Those who are trying to defend the command performance last night This is what happened KapilSibals house They damaged the car Stood on top so it caved in Threw tomatoes both outside and inside the house If this is not hooliganism then what else is itResponding to Tewaris tweet Tharoor who was part of the leaders who wrote to Gandhi tweeted That is shameful We all know KapilSibal as a true Congressman who has fought multiple cases in court for INCIndiaAs a democratic party we need to listen to what he has to saydisagree if you must but not in this way Our priority is to strengthen ourselves to take on the BJP Tharoor saidAlso responding to Tewaris tweet Congress leader Vivek Tankha tweeted Never to a person who has fought and saved so many Cong governments and persons and unmake opposition governmentPeople may disagree with him Even protest But not damage his car At least in my life I never encouraged or promoted hooliganism Tankha saidHours after he raised questions over the functioning of the Congress Sibal on Wednesday came under attack from several quarters with party workers also protesting outside his house hereIn the wake of several Congress leaders quitting the party and its Punjab unit in turmoil Sibal has demanded that an immediate meeting of the Congress Working Committee CWC be convened and wondered who in the party was taking decisions in the absence of a fulltime presidentSibal said at a press conference that the G23 grouping is not a Jee Huzur 23 and will continue to put forth the views and will continue to repeat the demandsCarrying Get Well Soon Kapil Sibal placards and raising slogans against Sibal Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee DPCC workers had protested outside his Jor Bagh residence saying they were hurt by his remarksThe protesters raised slogans against Sibal asking him to leave the party A protestor also stood on his carThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever