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Chhabra to get notice from Chandigarh Congress for anti-party utterances
In a message addressed to city Congress chief Subash Chawla, Chhabra said he was fighting to get justice for the loyal party workers
Meeting for the first time after its constitution, the new executive of the faction-riddled Chandigarh Congress, on Thursday, recommended strict action against the rebel party leaders.
This will involve a show-cause notice to former city president Pardeep Chhabra for his “anti-party” activities. The party has already written to the high command against him.
“The party took a strong note of the recent actions of former Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee president Pardeep Chhabra, who has been openly criticising the party leadership and thus damaging the party’s image and its prospects. It was unanimously decided to condemn such anti-party activities and issue a show-cause notice to him,” said HS Lucky, chief party spokesperson.
Former MP and party’s national treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal, city party chief Subhash Chawla and the newly appointed office-bearers were present in the meeting. Chhabra, who was also invited by Chawla to the meeting, didn’t attend it citing personal reasons.
The notice against Chhabra comes close on the heels of seven party leaders, including a former general secretary, former district general secretaries, presidents and vice-presidents, resigning from the primary membership of the party.
Earlier on Thursday, in a message addressed to Chawla, Chhabra stated, “I am fighting to get justice for the loyal party workers. I can expose all the party leaders, but it will harm only the party and the leaders, not their sycophants.”
On the notice, he said, “I have not received anything. I will respond to it only after know the contents of the letter. I am a dedicated and loyal worker of the party for over three decades.”
Six months on, internal feud rages on
For the last six months since Chawla replaced Chhabra as the city president, the party has been struggling to control internal feuds. Targeting Bansal and Chawla, Chhabra has alleged that the incumbent party leadership had ignored party loyalists with more than 30 years’ service.
The matter came to a head when the Congress high command recently gave its nod to the appointment of the new executive comprising 133 members.
Chhabra alleged that money, power and sycophancy, and not merit, decided the selection of the members.
A day after Chhabra’s allegations, his close aide and former general secretary Sandeep Bhardwaj resigned from the party. Bhardwaj blamed Bansal for his resignation. Six more resignations, by those considered loyalists of Chhabra, followed soon after.
The allegation has been strongly refuted by Chawla, who has maintained that he has retained nearly 99% of Chhabra’s team in the new committee.
The factionalism within the party has erupted amid its preparations for the MC elections later this year, where the party is looking to improve its current tally of five councillors in the MC House of 26.
