Senior Congress leader A K Antony's remarks that some sections of society have an impression that the party is inclined to minority communities could start a debate in the party as a general secretary said the issue will be deliberated.
"He (Antony) is one of the seniormost leaders. What he has said and observed will certainly be discussed and debated," party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed told reporters.
Former Congres MP Rashid Alvi said "I have not gone through the statement given by Antonyji but Congress party is committed to minorities. I would like to go through the statement to see what kind of statement was given by Antonyji. But it is our committment to look after the interests of minorities in the country."
Former Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari was cautious in his approach as he said that "without talking to Mr. A K Antony, who has a very prfound amount of gravitas, it will be inappropriate to give any comment" on his remarks.
While the party officially refrained from either endorsing or criticizing Antony's remarks, sources said a party general secretary had more than six months back communicated in writing to Antony himself in this regard.
He had expressed the apprehension that BJP will try to paint Congress as a pro-Muslim party and try to derive political mileage by deepening such an impression.
The Congress leader's argument was that since Hindus are divided in castes and they look at themselves more as a minority being in a particular caste and Muslims as a monolithic minority, it helps BJP's propaganda.
The debate has come at a time when the party has begun its exercise to find answers to its worst-ever poll debacle which has seen Congress numbers plummetting to just 44 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
The informal group, headed by A K Antony, has already met the party leadership of a number of states and is set to submit its report to Congress President Sonia Gandhi any day after July 6.
It has also come at a time when a Chintan Shivir is on the cards to work out the future strategy to revive the prganization.
