While strong difference of opinion between Congress state president, Nirmal Khatri and Congress legislative Party (ClP) leader, Pradeep Mathur, galore over going in for coalition with other political parties, Khatri surprised everyone when he had visited the house of former union steel minister, Beni Prasad Verma and had a close door meeting for more than 45-minutes on Saturday. 

Both Beni and Khatri were not just having strange relations for the last above two years, but Verma, who is also a CWC member, never missed an opportunity, to expose how the Congress is heading towards disaster under Khatri. However, state president not used any word against Beni and duck the questions saying that he (Beni) was a senior leader so he did not wanted to make any comment on him.  Interestingly, even Madhusudan Mistri, who is incharge of Party affairs here in UP supported Khatri and said that they would make no remarks against CWC member. 

Beni Prasad Verma, who confirmed of his meeting with Khatri on Saturday refused to reveal any detail. However, sources said that the State president, who till now made no comment against Beni but left no chance to weaken former union minister by not giving any position in the Party to Beni’s followers or ensuring that his (Beni) men would get ticket in last Parliament elections, suddenly took a U-turn after Beni met Congress president, Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President, Rahul Gandhi last week and disclosed the `truth’ of the working of Khatri as UPCC chief and that how it is badly damaging the Congress. 

Sources also confirmed that the two group open sword over selection of some recent presidents of district and city Congress presidents. A senior Congress leader close to Khatri, even on Saturday tried to clarify that State president had nothing to ensure that Beni’s men would not get inducted as city or district presidents and entire selection process has been done by four AICC secretaries who toured entire state and had chosen candidates having potential to give new lease of life to the Party.    

Besides the above, registering his strong reservation against comment of Pradeep Mathur, over going in alliance with other Parties, Nirmal Khatri said that he had already appraised the ClP that such remarks should not be made in the press and if there is any necessity than it should be within the Party platform.’’I am totally opposed to any alliance in UP. Congress is competent enough to forge ahead in UP without any alliance,’’Khatri told reporters here. He further said it was the alliance with the BSP in the early 1990s due to which the vote bank of the party had shifted and it was in such a bad position. ‘’Any further alliance will further harm the party in the state,’’ he said.

Earlier, Mathur had said it was his personal view that the party should have a secular alliance like Bihar where Congress had joined the alliance with JD(U) and RlD and won one assembly seat in the by-elections.

Meanwhile, Khatri on Saturday also disclosed that the Party will hold a state wide “protest march” on September 2, on the 100th day of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. “The protest march will be held in all the district headquarter with raising the issue of failures of the BJP government,” said Khatri. ``Modi had promised to bring Black money and control inflation within 100 days. We will questions the BJP about their promises, “he added. He said that after the BJP government came to power the international borders of the country was in threat.

“While Pakistan is continuing firing, the China was encroaching our territory,” he alleged.

BOX WITH THE COPY 

Congress President, Nirmal Khatri, on Saturday claimed that Rahul Gandhi’s stature and responsibility in the Party is not so big as of now hence he campaigned in Ferojabad parliament by-elections in 2009 but would not do so in this by-polls.

``There in no tradition in the Congress that Congress president or members of that family campaigned during any of the by-elections held so far”, claimed Nirmal Khatri while defending non-inclusion of names of Congress president, Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President, Rahul Gandhi’s in the Party’s star campaigner list released on Friday. 

When Khatri’s attention was drawn to the fact that not just earlier on, but even during last by-polls in Ferojabad Parliament seat which Raj Babbar won, Rahul Gandhi, had campaigned for the Party Candidate, Nirmal Khatri’s replied shocked everyone though he failed to convince the media persons. ``In that by-polls, Rahul was just a general secretary and is not owning such big responsibility as he is doing as Congress vice-president now, hence he participated in campaign that time but will not do so this time”, replied Khatri. Interestingly, when media asked that even than he belongs to Gandhi family and enjoyed number two position”, Khatri duck the query saying that he had already given the answer.