Dismisses reports of factionalism in the party
Refuting reports of factionalism in the Congress in Uttarakhand, the party’s State in-charge Ambika Soni said that the party chief will finalise the name of the Congress candidate for Rajya Sabha membership from Uttarakhand. Interacting with the media after arriving in Dehradun and reviewing the works done and planned in disaster affected Kedarnath, she expressed satisfaction at the work done so far by the State Government at Kedarnath. Regarding Robert Vadra, she said that the law is equal for all and that it is unfair to persecute him.
Soni said, “The Congress president Sonia Gandhi is concerned with the work being undertaken in Kedarnath and other disaster affected areas of Uttarakhand. The State Government has done more work than was being estimated and it will be good if the planned works are completed on time. Following the recent floods in Jammu & Kashmir, there was talk about Uttarakhand with people seeking rehabilitation plan and compensation on the lines of Uttarakhand,” she said.
On being asked about rival Congress factions vying for Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand she said, “The Congress is united. Our party president will decide after consultation with the chief minister and PCC chief, as is the norm. I have personally talked to many senior party leaders here and will communicate their feedback to the party president. New thoughts and ideas do emerge in the party according to changing scenarios,” she said. On being asked about contradictory statements being made by cabinet ministers and party leaders, Soni appealed to party leaders to give their suggestions in the party forum. On the issue of Robert Vadra who had recently misbehaved with a journalist on being asked about land deals in Haryana, she said that if any law has been violated the law treats everyone the same. All answers to questions on this issue are already in the public domain so persecuting him is not fair, she added. CM Harish Rawat, PCC chief Kishore Upadhyaya, party State co- in charge Sanjay Kapoor, cabinet ministers and MlAs were also present on the occasion. It is worth mentioning here that apart from reviewing works in disaster affected areas especially Kedarnath, Soni was also scheduled to hold talks with party leaders and MlAs to discuss various issues.