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Infighting in HP Congress: Disciplinary panel to decide fate of dozen leaders
The rift in the party widened after a group led by former state Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu stepped up its activities.
Amid turmoil within the Himachal Pradesh Congress, party state chief Kuldeep Rathore has called an emergency meeting of the party’s disciplinary committee to decide the fate of erring leaders who are up in arms against the state leadership.
The rift in the party widened after a group led by former state Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu stepped up its activities. All India Congress Committee had appointed 56-year-old Rathore as the president last year, replacing Sukhu ahead of the Lok Sabha (LS) elections after the party’s stalwart and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh demanded his (Sukhu’s) removal. Rathore is close to Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma. The former CM also supported Rathore’s appointment.
The state disciplinary committee headed by Solan legislator Dhani Ram Shandil will meet on July 22.
Differences between Sukhu and Virbhadra resurfaced after the party’s worst-ever performance in LS elections in the state. The BJP won each of the four seats with a record margin of over 3.25 lakh votes.
Both Virbhadra and Sukhu blamed each other for the defeat, while a large section of sitting legislators and party nominees, who unsuccessfully contested to state assembly, held Rathore’s poor management and ineptness responsible for the party’s debacle. However, AICC’s in-charge for Himachal affairs Rajani Ashok Patil openly supported Rathore ignoring the dissent of the rival group.
Recently, the leaders owing allegiance to Sukhu, including six-time legislator Harshwardhan Chauna, former parliamentary secretaries Rohit Thakur and Sohan Lal Thakur, former urban development minister Sudhir Sharma and Palampur legislator Ashish Butail, got together to chalk out their future strategy. They opined that it was difficult for the party to contest elections under the present set-up and called for appointing former health minister Kaul Singh Thakur as the party chief.
A section of leaders from Mandi district had also raised a banner of revolt against Rathore. In a letter shot to the party’s central high command, they alleged that senior leaders were sidelined when Rathore had reshuffled the party, among other complaints.
Following this, Congress issued a show-cause notice to all the 12 signatories which included former minister Mansa Ram, former chief parliamentary secretaries Lal Singh Kaushal, Jiwan Thakur, Sohan Lal Thakur, Champa Thakur, Jagdish Bedi and Mansa Ram, former minister Vijay Pal Singh, former HPCC spokesperson Jagdish Bedi.
On the other hand, former CM Virbhadra Singh had also hosted a lunch, possibly in a show of strength for Rathore, on July 12, for which several leaders turned up at his residence, including MLAs Mohan Lal Brakta, Pawan Kajal, Rajender Rana, Sunder Singh Takur, Mukesh Agnihotri and Kasumpti legislator Anirudh Singh.
