New Delhi, Jun 17 (IANS): After removal as Congress spokesperson, Sanjay Jha who has been critical of the party leadership of late, said that the party lacks internal democracy and it is not what it used to be, for sure.

"I am proud that I stood by the Congress ideology of the Gandhi/Nehru era. The party is not what it used to be, for sure," Sanjay Jha said.

Talking to IANS, Jha said, "I am grateful that the Indian National Congress gave me the responsibility to be its National Spokesperson for almost 7 years, including as a media panelist."

"At the time when most party representatives were in hiding or in hibernation when the UPA-2 was being decimated in television debates, along with a few others I was the only one taking the bull by the horns," he said.

Recently, Jha had written an article in a newspaper which is believed to be the immediate reason for his removal.

Jha said, "This just proves what I have stated publicly in my recent articles; the Congress lacks internal democracy. My constructive feedback has not been taken in the right spirit; there are vested interests who are both insecure and incapable of reviving our party."

But he said that he will remain a committed Congressman and shall continue to raise issues internally and publicly to strengthen the party from within.

Refuting the allegations levelled by Jha, a party leader and a CWC member said, party had discussions many times with PCC chiefs and chief ministers and a group was constituted under Manmohan Singh to oversee the pandemic, the party's highest decision making body -- the CWC also deliberated on issues.

In the article Jha had said party could not present alternative narrative of governance to the people when the NDA government has failed.

But Congress party rejected the charge and said, former party president Rahul Gandhi did present alternative and suggested many measures and president Sonia Gandhi also wrote many letters. It was Sonia Gandhi's intervention that facilitated the return of migrants to their home and party's frontal organisations were prompt in providing help to people in distress.

Jha said the claim that the congress has internal, robust mechanism is "not correct" and it doesn't listen to its members.

Sanjay Jha pushed his view through a newspaper article but was promptly contradicted by the party. Senior spokesperson Ajay Maken contradicted Jha and said, "there is no dearth of internal discussion in the party and I have been able to put forth my view whenever I wanted to."