Factionalism comes to fore at HP Cong protest against govt over inflation, unemployment

The divide in Dharamshala unit of the Congress was visible on Sunday as a protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party for inflation and unemployment, turned into

The divide in Dharamshala unit of the Congress was visible on Sunday as a protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party for inflation and unemployment, turned into a show of strength between the party leaders.

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The Congress has launched a week-long statewide campaign against rising prices of essential commodities, unemployment and economic crisis in the country under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule. However, a district-level protest organised here looked more like a demonstration by the party leaders against each other.

Followers of the youth leader Vijay Inder Karan, who unsuccessfully contested the by-election for Dharamshala bypolls came face to face with the group owing allegiance to former minister Sudhir Sharma. Karan had blamed Sharma for his humiliating defeat in the by-elections.

Supporters from both sides raised slogans in favour of their respective leader and against the opponents and even booed the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Kuldeep Rathore.

The supporters refused to budge even as senior party leaders urged them to stop individual-specific sloganeering. They calmed down only after Rathore warned them of strict action for indiscipline.

While addressing the party workers, the HPCC chief exhorted them to be united in their fight against the saffron party’s ideology. He said the result of Dharmashala by-election would have been different if the party workers fought as one unit.

Launching an attack on the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government, Rathore said, the central government failed to fulfill even a single promise in their previous term.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party government neither brought back the black money nor did they give employment to the youth. Instead lot of jobs were lost across the country,” he said.

He said there was a wave against the Modi government but after the Pulwama attack, the Bharatiya Janata Party mislead the public and real issues were overshadowed by the pseudo-nationalism.

“The BJP got a second term but the situation today is such that the country is in a complete financial mess and Modi government’s wrong financial policies are to be blamed for the chaos,” Rathore said.

He said decisions like demonetisation and implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) ruined small businesses in the country. “Today, our hard-earned money is not even safe in the banks which are going bankrupt,” the HPCC chief said.

Accusing the Modi-led government of political vendetta against opponent, Rathore alleged that the Centre is putting the opposition leaders in jail and misusing central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and I-T department against them.

“The most shocking decision was to withdraw the SPG security of Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi,” he said, adding that it was a disgrace to the Gandhi family, which gave two prime ministers to India and lost their loved ones for the nation.

Rathore also mocked the Global Investors’ Meet organised by the state government and termed it a conclave of the BJP workers.