Even as the controversy around the letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi is yet to die down, another dispatch from former partymen, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, has come to shake the grand old organisation. In fact, the ex-Congressmen have minced no words in urging Sonia to “rise above family politics” and making a veiled attack on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is the party general secretary in charge of UP.
Stating that the Congress is passing through its ‘worst ever’ phase in Uttar Pradesh, thefour-page letter, signed by expelled party leaders from the State, calls upon Sonia to rise above family (parivaar ke moh se upar uthe) and restore the democratic traditions of the party.
The letter, signed by former MP Santosh Singh, former minister Satyadev Tripathi, former MLAs Vinod Chaudhary, Bhoodar Narain Mishra, Nekchand Pandey, Swayam Prakash Goswami and Sanjeev Singh,
“There is an apprehension that you are not being apprised of the prevailing situation by those in charge of state affairs. We have been seeking an appointment with you for almost a year but have been denied the same. We had appealed against our expulsion which was illegal but even the central disciplinary committee has not found time to consider our appeal,” the letter says.
The signatories to the letter have alleged that there is a total lack of communication between the leaders and the party cadres. They further pointed out that frontal organisations like NSUI and Youth Congress have become defunct in UP.
The former party members further claimed that the party posts are being occupied by those who are working on a salary basis and are not even primary members of the party.
“These ‘leaders’ are not familiar with the party’s ideology but are tasked to give direction to the party in UP,” the letter states.
“These people are the one who are assessing the performances of those leaders who stood like a rock in the Congress during the 1977-80 crisis. Democratic norms are being thrown to the winds and senior leaders are being targeted, insulted and expelled. In fact, we were informed of our expulsion from the media which speaks of the new work culture in the state unit,” said the letter.
The leaders urged the Congress high command to open channels of communication with senior leaders. They have warned that if it continues to turn a blind eye to the prevailing state of affairs, the Congress would hit rock bottom in UP which was once the party’s stronghold.
The letter comes at a time when the party is already facing its worst factional divide in Uttar Pradesh. While the senior leaders have withdrawn from party activities, the younger leaders have accused the UPCC leadership of promoting caste interests.
The leaders also accused Priyanka of believing all that is “fed to her” by the state leadership and that she does not bother to meet leaders outside her coterie.
Last month, Sonia had convened a Congress Working Committee meeting after 23 senior leaders of the party including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal including five former Chief Ministers, CWC members, sitting MPs, and several former Union Ministers had written to Sonia Gandhi calling for sweeping changes, from top to bottom.
Sonia had offered to quit as chief of the party and after the resolution that a new chief will be elected at an AICC session at earliest she decided to continue as interim chief of the grand old party.