E-Paper
Congress dissolves Sirmaur unit fraught with factionalism
The Sirmaur unit of the Himachal Congress, which was fraught with factionalism, was dissolved on Tuesday and former Vidhan Sabha speaker and seven-time legislator Gangu Ram Musafir was elected as its interim president.
The Sirmaur unit of the Himachal Congress, which was fraught with factionalism, was dissolved on Tuesday and former Vidhan Sabha speaker and seven-time legislator Gangu Ram Musafir was elected as its interim president.
All India Congress Committee in-charge Rajeev Shukla dissolved the Sirmaur unit after senior party leader and five-time legislator Harshwardhan Chauhan and Ajay Solanki, the Congress nominee during the last assembly elections, complained about the “arbitrary’ functioning of district Congress committee president Ajay Bhadur Singh.
The leaders had alleged that Ajay Bhadur was a BJP supporter and at 78 was too old to handle the party’s affairs, especially with the state heading to polls. Their factional feud came to the fore during the party’s Bharat Jodho Sadhbhavna Sammelan, where senior leaders took umbrage at their name not being published as guests of honour. The miffed leaders refused to share the dias with state Congress committee chief Pratibha Singh, who was presiding over the proceedings, and chose to squat with the party workers instead. Pratibha Singh requested the leaders to join her on stage several times, but to no avail. More than 200 workers had passed a resolution against Ajay Bhadur demanding his ouster .
Police had also registered an FIR against Ajay Bhadur and former Paonta Sahib legislator Karnesh Jung at the Nahan polices station under Section 323 ( voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code for beating Rupinder Thakur, the general secretary of the district Congrress Committee.
