Few days after former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda hinted at a possible organisational change in Haryana Congress “on the lines of Punjab”, Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar on Monday denied any such change happening in the near future.
Amid the reports of simmering differences between Hooda and Tanwar till date, the latter also sought to downplay the issue of apparent factionalism in the party.
While talking to the mediapersons on Monday here, Tanwar said that it is the party high command who decides on the issue of leadership change whenever required. As of now, I have not received any information about it from the party high command, said he.
The senior Congress leader and his detractor Bhupinder Singh Hooda had few days ago said that like Punjab, the Haryana Congress will take an appropriate decision about the leadership change at the right appropriate time.
The statement came after Capt. Amarinder Singh took over the charge as party chief in neighboring Punjab replacing Pratap Singh Bajwa.
With Hooda camp and Tanwar camp continues to work separately to showcase their strength in the party, the situation in Haryana Congress is somewhat similar as it was in Punjab earlier.
Captain Amarinder Singh had replaced Pratap Singh Bajwa as the Punjab party president in December after months of speculation over change in state’s leadership.
Meanwhile, speaking to the mediapersons here, Ashok Tanwara also denied the reports of factionalism and claimed that the party is united.
When asked if he would join Hooda during his protest outside the Jharli power plant on Tuesday, the state Congress chief replied that he will busy in a programme to be held in Karnal and would not be able to join the protest.
Despite the humiliating defeat suffered by the Congress in Haryana in the 2014 assembly poll as a result of factionalism, party leaders in the state have not learnt any lessons at all.
Through the lunch parties, public meetings and even otherwise, Hooda and Tanwar continue to prove that they have got support of the maximum number of party legislators. Tanwar has got the support of Haryana ClP leader Kiran Choudhry, whose difference with Hooda is not a secret either.
When asked if there should be a dalit Chief Minister in Haryana, Tanwar said that this is a long pending demand in the state and he would not mind if it happens in the future.
Haryana has a history of heinous crime against dalits. The dalits (20 percent) are the second biggest group in population after jats (about 25 percent) in Haryana but the cases of brutal violence against dalits is a constant phenomenon in Jat land.