Rahul for norms but no code of conduct for partymen

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday ruled out any code of conduct for party office-bearers, even as he was firm about the need to frame "rules and regulations" and putting a "transparent system" in place in the party, it was reliably learnt.

Interacting with party office-bearers on the second consecutive day here, he said he had come to the conclusion that all of them want an improvement in the system. But it will be done gradually because if rules are made in a haste, they might not be lasting, Rahul was quoted as telling the office-bearers.

What came as a relief to senior party leaders was the fact that the young vice-president did not appear to be in a hurry to fix accountability for actions taken by senior functionaries.

Some leaders had complained on Thursday that when an AICC general secretary in charge of a state loses elections there, instead of taking action against him, he is given charge of another state.

Seeking to address the issue indirectly, Rahul on Friday was learnt to have said, "Responsibility without authority cannot work for long."

Given the fact that it is the party high command, and not party general secretaries, who take final decisions on crucial matters, including the appointment of state or even district Congress chiefs, it has to be seen whether Rahul will walk the talk and decentralise the "authority" before fixing accountability.

As an AICC functionary stressed the need for a code of conduct in the party, Rahul was learnt to have responded, "It cannot work in the senior Congress." Incidentally, Rahul's insistence on framing of rules in the party came a day after a senior leader had pointed out that rules and regulations were already in place in the party and what was needed was their proper implementation.

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