Arjun ends row, bows before Cong's first family

LOYAL FOLLOWERS: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi snubbed Singh at a function.

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I am not a sycophant, says Arjun Singh

Singh rejects the view that there was any tension between him and Sonia Gandhi.

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• I am not a sycophant, says Arjun Singh
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• Spiritual guru's followers brutally attack journos

Keywords: Congress, Nehru Gandhi Family

New Delhi: Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh has buried his mild dissent against the Nehru-Gandhi family and reaffirmed that he is their loyalist.

Singh, while speaking at a function to release a book on his public life, had questioned Congress’ commitment to inner democracy and to “loyalty”.

“The yardstick for measuring loyalty had become very limited,” he said on Friday. The very next day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi snubbed him by refusing to acknowledge at him a function.

Singh changed tack on Sunday and issued a statement which said his commitment to the Nehru-Gandhi family was an “article of faith”.

"When I met Pandit Jawaharlal Nehruji in March 1960 I pledged my total loyalty to him and his family. This was the commitment, which is an article of faith with me. For the past 48 years of my life, I have scrupulously adhered to it. I shall also do everything to maintain the loyalty and commitment to the remaining members of the family till I live," said Singh’s statement.

Like his carefully crafted anti-RSS image, loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family has been an important ingredient of Singh's politics. Fifty years after he contested his first elections Singh finds this aspect of his public image in disarray almost.

He has called for a ceasefire but his detractors within the Congress continue to question his intentions in raking up the loyalty issue. " Why is he repeatedly talking about the quality of loyalty," said Congress Working Committee member R K Dhawan.

The Congress is unlikely to take action against the veteran party leader but Singh, who recently came out triumphant in the OBC quota battle, seems to have lost the loyalty test.