To counter the back-to-back ferrying of the Union cabinet ministers by State BJP ahead of the election to give cutting punch to the opposition party’s attack on the Chief Minister Harish Rawat and the Congress- led Government, the State Congress has decided to rope in the former Union Minister Kapil Sibal. It is decided that the senior party leader would address a rally in Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district on December 8. The schedule was changed as the date of the rally has been postponed by a day. Earlier , it was slated to be held on December 7. Congress sources said that the date had been postponed in view of the BJP national president Amit Shah set to conclude the ongoing Parivartan Yatra on December 7. The yatra was flagged off by Shah on November 13 in Dehradun.
However, the rank and file of the ruling Congress is not taking kindly to the state party brass changing schedules frequently, yielding space to the arch rival BJP. “The State party leadership earlier changed the flagging off date of the party’s Satat Vikas and Sankalp Yatra (consistent development and pledge rally) which was earlier slated to start on November 12. They cited the fact that the BJP president Shah was to flag off the Parivartan Yatra in the city on November 13. They said they were doing so to avoid confrontation with the BJP activists. They have done the same again regarding the proposed rally by Sibal. Such backtracking sends a message to the BJP that they are in the command of things with the ruling party adapting itself to its announced programmes. This is a wrong strategy when the election is a few months away, giving the impression that we are on the retreating mode vis-à-vis our rival,” said an unhappy Congress activist, requesting anonymity.
Congress insiders said that the PCC president Kishore Upahdhyay is finalising the schedules of the party programme without consulting the State Government and the Chief Minister.