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Patiala MP hits out at Punjab Cong’s halqa in-charge culture
The two-time MP was referring to the recent party events in eight assembly segments of Patiala district, where halqa in-charges sidelined young Congress leaders.
Patiala Congress MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, considered close to party leader Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday criticised the appointment process of halqa (constituency) in-charges, saying it was designed to “snub and sabotage the rise of young, committed leaders”.
In a post on Facebook, Dr Gandhi questioned the move, saying: “Who are these halqa in-charges? They are mostly candidates who could not make it to the Vidhan Sabha, with some even losing their deposits. Who appointed them? Where are their appointment orders? The leader concerned should make them public.”
The two-time MP was referring to the recent party events in eight assembly segments of Patiala district, where halqa in-charges sidelined young Congress leaders and workers. The events were part of the Sangathan Srijan programme, aimed at appointing new district Congress presidents through representatives of the All India Congress Committee.
“This practice is not in consonance with the Congress’ organisational principles and culture. By promoting the halqa in-charge system, you have destroyed the leadership potential of dozens of politically promising young men and women and buried the aspirations of two generations of youth. If this continues, the third generation will also be lost,” Dr Gandhi wrote.
The MP criticised “the repeated promotion of a selective few”, adding, “The continuation of the halqa in-charge culture and repeated doling out of the posts, positions, powers and tickets—four or five times in some cases—to the select few and later to their wards, amounts to a crime against youth, against the Congress, and against the future leadership of the country.”
