Chandigarh: Disgruntled Congress leaders call for workers convention on May 5

Amid discord within the local unit of Congress, a meeting was held on Tuesday under the leadership of Gurpreet Singh Gabi, vice-president of Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee

A section of disgruntled party leaders within the local unit of Congress have called for a workers convention on May 5, where around 3,000 party workers from across the city are expected to show up.

The workers, who are loyalists of three-time Chandigarh MP Pawan Kumar Bansal, said they were feeling ignored as no one was listening to their voice within the party. (Keshav Singh/HT)

Amid discord within the local unit of Congress, a meeting was held on Tuesday under the leadership of Gurpreet Singh Gabi, vice-president of Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee (CTCC).

The workers, who are loyalists of three-time Chandigarh MP Pawan Kumar Bansal, said they were feeling ignored as no one was listening to their voice within the party. Most of the workers registered their strong protest against this attitude of the party and felt outsiders from Punjab were being given more importance.

Besides Gabi, the leaders present during the meeting included three Congress councillors and vice-presidents, general secretary, secretary and vice-president of the Youth Congress, district head, general secretary, secretary, ward head and NSUI president and team.

Denied a party ticket this time after losses in both 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Bansal continues to remain absent from Chandigarh candidate Manish Tewari’s campaign, including party meetings and activities.

“Every day the party workers are leaving the Congress and joining other parties, and the position of the party is getting weaker day by day. The senior Delhi leadership of the party should have persuaded the disgruntled workers and given them due respect. But on the contrary, some leaders of the party kept giving statements against the disgruntled people, due to which the workers felt sad and considered it appropriate to leave the party,” said Gabi.

NSUI president Sachin Galav said the Youth Congress and NSUI were the backbone of the party, but Youth Congress workers were being ignored in this election. Youth Congress vice-president Deepak Lubana and his state team, district presidents, ward presidents and his team were not even taken into confidence due to which the party’s election campaign was not gaining momentum, he said.

Councillor Nirmala Devi’s husband Dilawar Singh and party’s general secretary Luv Kumar said their protest was not against two-time MP and candidate Manish Tewari. “The party has made him candidate and it is our duty to respect him, but the way the workers are being ignored and outsiders are interfering in Chandigarh Congress, it is not appropriate,” they said.

“Only the local workers know the needs and demands of the residents of Chandigarh because they participate in their joys and sorrows. The residents of Chandigarh have been suffering for the last 10 years,” he said.

Gabi also said they expect both Tewari and Bansal to attend the workers convention in the larger interest of the party.