Amid leadership crisis in Congress at the central as well as the state level, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday expressed hope that the matter of party leadership will be settled soon and then decision regarding Haryana state party unit will be taken.
“We have demanded that Rahul Gandhi should take his resignation back. We are hopeful that the decision regarding party's national leadership will be taken soon,” Hooda said while talking to the mediapersons here.
The elections to 90-member State Assembly elections in Haryana are due to be held in October.
Regarding the demand of change of guard in state party unit, the former Chief Minister said, “We are waiting for the decision at central level. After the leadership issue at the central level is resolved, the decision will be taken in case of Haryana as well.”
On the ongoing infighting in Haryana Congress unit, Hooda said, “There is no fighting … Thought process is different.”
Congress will perform well in the upcoming assembly elections. In Lok Sabha polls, there was Narendra Modi wave but in assembly elections, there will be no such wave, he said.
The BJP Government in Haryana has failed on all fronts, be it health, education, law and order situation or power sector, he alleged.
Commenting on rumours of him quitting the Congress, he said, I will stay in Congress only.”
When asked to comment on the election planning and management committee (EPMC) constituted by Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, the former Chief Minister said that the general secretary in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad had himself stated that this committee is not approved.
I have also remained state party president. Such committees cannot be constituted without the approval of AICC, he added.
Ashok Tanwar had last week announced the constitution of EPMC for upcoming Haryana Assembly elections and had convened its first meeting on July 8 in New Delhi. While Azad had declared the committee as ‘invalid’, Tanwar had convened its meeting in defiance of Azad’s snub and had renamed the committee as a group.
After Congress’ poll debacle in Lok Sabha polls where it scored a duck in Haryana, the party leaders close to Hooda have been demanding resignation of Tanwar and change in state party leadership ahead of upcoming assembly elections.