Its content was drab, it never reached most subscribers and its editorial board had lost interest.
Now speculation is rising about the possible death of the Congress Sandesh, the party mouthpiece whose voice had become almost inaudible, after its November and December issues failed to come out.
Sources told The Telegraph a decision to give the monthly magazine a quiet burial had been taken two months ago.
Asked if the Congress Sandesh had been closed, editor Girija Vyas, however, said: “Not at all. I was busy with the Rajasthan elections. I’m coming back and the issues will come out soon.”
Vyas, former Union minister, contested the Udaipur Assembly seat and lost.
Many other party seniors either expressed ignorance or offered vague statements such as “no final decision has been taken to shut it down”. However, the magazine’s office remains closed.
Sources said that Sonia Gandhi had “for years” felt during her presidency that the periodical served no purpose, and that Rahul Gandhi favoured the use of modern communication tools — rather than a print magazine — to interact with party workers.
Such communication is now done largely through Facebook, Twitter and Internet-based Apps, including the party’s new interactive tool, Shakti.
Some suggested that a shortage of funds may have compelled the new party treasurer, Ahmed Patel, to crack down on “wasteful expenditure”. Patel didn’t respond to text messages.
Launched in 1999, the Congress Sandesh used to be published every month in Hindi and English. Edited by party leaders, and with its editorial board made up entirely of politicians, the magazine never acquired a professional touch.
It was filled with old speeches by party presidents, articles by politicians and photographs of sundry events taking place in various parts of the country.
Formerly, editorial board members such as Natwar Singh, Vasanth Sathe, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Vyas and Salman Khurshid at least discussed the content, but the party gradually lost interest. The current board has only two members — Khurshid and Jairam Ramesh — and nobody remembers when it last met.
Till a few years ago, the magazine used to create some political ripples once a month, with Sonia writing a presidential letter that the national media invariably picked up. But Sonia was so perturbed by the magazine’s falling standards that she stopped writing.
The magazine, which declined during the editorship of Anil Shastri, went into oblivion during Vyas’s tenure.
Some sources said the Congress Sandesh anyway reflected an “internal scam”. It was initially mandatory for every member to subscribe to the magazine, which should have placed it among the world’s largest circulated periodicals. But the party published far less.
A year’s subscription comes to Rs 100. If there is more than one Congress member in a family, they are allowed to get a common copy. Even then the circulation should have been above 50 lakh. One party general secretary said that barely 20,000 copies were printed a month.
Party workers from the states regularly complained that they never received copies despite paying the subscription. The Congress constitution was quietly changed a few years ago to tweak the mandatory-for-all clause.
The party constitution now says: “Subscription to party periodical for membership: Every member shall pay as subscription to the periodical approved by the AICC, i.e. Congress Sandesh. The subscription amount shall have to be deposited along with his/ her enrolment/ renewal form.”
It adds: “However, such of those persons who desire to become members but cannot afford to pay subscription for Congress Sandesh along with his/ her enrolment fee are permitted to pay the same within one year after their enrolment as members. However, for the members who get elected to any of the committees, it shall be mandatory to enrol themselves as subscribers of (sic) the Congress Sandesh.
“In the case of elected representatives like MPs, MLAs, MLCs, panchayati raj members and all party functionaries at block level and above, subscribing to (the) Congress Sandesh is compulsory.”