While the Indian National Congress is holding its all India session at New Delhi, the Congress activists in Tamil Nadu are in a state of shock and sad as many of the dedicated and committed leaders and workers were not accorded the AICC membership.
“It is a life’s dream come true for any Congress activist. We have been toiling for the party for the last two-three decades. But when it is time for the AICC session, the leaders of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee deliberately keep us away from the event,” said Karate R Thiagarajan, a popular face of the TNCC.
The decision of the TNCC leaders to exclude Thiagarajan and hundreds of activists like him from the AICC session in New Delhi had its repercussion in Chennai as nearly 300 Congress workers staged a demonstration on Wednesday at Satyamurthy Bhavan, the TNCC head quarters.
“It is really shocking that people like me who had put in yeomen service to the party and the Nehru-Gandhi family are cold shouldered once it is time for the AICC session. This is a curse which has fallen on the TNCC,” said Thiagarajan, who was once the acting Mayor of Chennai.
Thiagarajan said that he had enrolled more than 1000 active workers as members into the party. “Many leaders who came forward to enrol as many party activists as possible have been ignored by the Central leadership on one pretext or other,” Thiagarajan said.
The ‘young’ leader who is close to the faction led by P Chidambaram and family sees this as a humiliation to his leader. “He knows that hundreds of party activists like me have ben sidelined. This could have happened only with the concurrence of Thirunavakarassar, the TNCC chief , who is promoting his son in the party,” said Thiagarajan.
Thirunavakarassar,, who recently claimed that the Congress is the second largest party in Tamil Nadu was unavailable for comments. “This business of nomination by the High Command has been the bane of the Congress party in Tamil Nadu,” said B S Gnanadesikan, a former TNCC chief who led the party during the most tumultuous period.
Thiagarajan also alleged that film actor Khushbu, who has not bothered to renew her party membership was re-nominated as AICC member. “What work she has done for strengthening the CongressIJ We people are out in the street working for the party and people like Khushbu walk away with the credit and recognition,” charged Thiagarajan, one of the few leaders in TNCC with connections to grass-root level workers.
He also said that some leaders in the party are nominated with their family members. Kumarui Ananthan, father of Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilissai Sounderarajan, his brother Vasanth Kumar and the latter’s son are all delegates to the AICC session.