Former Haryana Speaker Kuldeep Sharma on Tuesday sought to put his recent differences with fellow party leaders behind, calling for an inclusive Congress and an end to what he described as attempts to silence him on party forums.
The senior Congress leader at a briefing on Tuesday alleged that he was prevented from speaking at party protest demonstrations in Panchkula and such attempts amounted to stifling and scuttling internal democracy in the party. The Congress leader, however, refrained from naming any party colleague.
A Congress protest demonstration last week had turned into a spat between former chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Sharma after the former allegedly told Thanesar MLA, Ashok Arora who was coordinating the protest demonstration not to include Sharma among the speakers at the protest. Hooda however has denied the allegation.
Also Read | Haryana Congress demands withdrawal of FIRs against party workers at Gurugram
Sharma said that former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was senior to him and has his own space in politics. “But one has to give space to everyone in the party. Congress is not a party which belongs to an individual. The 2005 assembly poll victory of the Congress to form the government in Haryana was a collective effort. The guldasta (bouquet) of the party is now disintegrated. I want to put it back together. The reconstruction of the organisation would require the support and cooperation of all sections of the party,’’ the former Congress MLA said.
{{/usCountry}}Sharma said that former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was senior to him and has his own space in politics. “But one has to give space to everyone in the party. Congress is not a party which belongs to an individual. The 2005 assembly poll victory of the Congress to form the government in Haryana was a collective effort. The guldasta (bouquet) of the party is now disintegrated. I want to put it back together. The reconstruction of the organisation would require the support and cooperation of all sections of the party,’’ the former Congress MLA said.
{{/usCountry}}Referring to the recent controversy involving Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda, Sharma said the Congress MP was like a son to him and since had expressed regret following which he has considered that chapter is closed. Sharma had on August 23 written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to remove Deepender from the Congress Working Committee over his remarks praising former party leader Sajjan Kumar.
“But eight to ten people were unleashed on me,” Sharma alleged, referring to the attacks made by party colleagues against him. Sharma also objected to attacks made by party leaders on caste lines describing them as a sign of immaturity. He said such statements ultimately benefited the BJP.
Also Read | Factionalism increasing in Haryana BJP: Congress chief
The Congress leader alleged that he had repeatedly been denied an opportunity to speak at party meetings. Sharma recalled that when he was stopped from speaking on HKRN, he maintained his balance and refrained from escalating the matter. “But I cannot be switched off like a mic,” Sharma said. The former Speaker said he had no reason to be defensive about his record and maintained that nobody could accuse him of corruption.
Sharma said his criticism was directed at the BJP governments at the Centre and in Haryana over unemployment and corruption. He described Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN) as a contradiction of the BJP’s “parchi-kharchi” slogan.
Former MLA targets Kuldeep
Former MLA, Neeraj Sharma while reacting to the former speaker’s remarks that others also needed space in the party said in a statement that Kuldeep Sharma despite being a first time MLA was appointed as Speaker. “ What more can one expect,’’ Neeraj said.