E-Paper
Unrest in Karnataka Youth Congress after new appointments
Former Karnataka minister Qamrul Islam was appointed secretary in-charge of Kerala and Ruchi Gupta as joint secretary in-charge of the National Students Union of India, which have not gone down well within the rank and file.
With organisational changes in the Congress happening in bits and pieces, two recent appointments have caused heartburn among a section in the party.
The appointments of former Karnataka minister Qamrul Islam as secretary in-charge of Kerala and Ruchi Gupta as joint secretary in-charge of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the students’ wing of the party, have not gone down well within the rank and file.
Islam, 69, is the oldest office-bearer in the 48-member team of secretaries — generally drawn from the party’s lot of young leaders — after 64-year-old Deepak Babaria.
A six-time legislator, Islam was dropped from the Karnataka cabinet in June last year following differences with chief minister Siddaramaiah. Islam had blamed Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader in Lok Sabha, for his exit.
Congress sources said Islam was accommodated in the national team after he threatened to “create problems” for Kharge and the party in the Gulbarga belt.
The appointments created unrest within Congress, especially among young aspiring members, who say the AICC has become a “parking lot” for disgruntled leaders.
