With union minister and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Beni Prasad Verma already pointing towards a change in Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee very soon, the fate of Nirmal Khatri as state president reportedly hangs in balance. Speculations are high that some young face from Uttar Pradesh would be asked to step down from Manmohan Singh’s ministry and took the job from Khatri particularly to galvanise activities so that to chances of good performance in the biggest state could be ensured.
Nirmal Khatri, who is busy in Varanasi to make his show against the State government for not implementing food security act and other problems related to farmers a success on coming Thursday, seems to be facing an uphill task to
attract party men particularly after news about his possible exit from the UPCC gains momentum in the past few weeks. The leaders at All India Congress Committee were the first to float news about Khatri’s removal from the post about a month back. The news was also buttressed with the fact that even after completing more than 15-months in office, he failed to form his committee at the State level and just continued to work with temporary arrangement.
The party state leadership, mostly who were eying for some key post in the UPCC were not just upset with the unnecessary delay made by Khatri but also expressed their surprise as the Party had to face biggest challenge in the
coming Parliament elections which is just about four months away.
Sources said that when the local leaders were not happy with the delay, union minister Beni Prasad Verma during his recent visit to the State capital put a question mark over Khatri’s tenure as state president. In a press conference
called by Verma to raise the issue of riots victims in Muzaffarnagar, CWC member claimed that change in State Congress is a must. Few days back, Beni also criticised state leaders when he claimed that some of them are
working as `agents’ of Samajwadi Party. Though his remarks invited ire of the party leaders but recently, Beni got support to his allegations when longest serving Congress legislative Party (ClP) leader, Pramod Tewari, who was removed by Rahul Gandhi after last Assembly elections debacle, surprised all Congressmen when he got himself elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha with the help of Samajwadi Party.
Besides Beni’s remark, the above development also raised question mark over Khatri’s fate as state president. AICC general secretary, Madhusudan Mistri, who is also incharge of Party affairs here in UP revealed before media persons in Varanasi that Pramod Tewari was not a official candidate of Congress in Rajya Sabha in his knowledge. Mistri’s reply immediately attracted the concern of Congressmen particularly as Khatri not only accompanied Pramod when he filed his nomination but after elections, the former ClP besides Sonia Gandhi also thanked Khatri claiming that only `he’ (Khatri) knew that how he won the elections. Pramod comments and later Mistri remarks pointed that Khatri extended support to former ClP without the knowledge of Mistri, even when he was incharge of Party affairs.
Sources further said that some local leaders though were happy with the Party’s successful show organised in lucknow to protest over delay in implementation of food security act last month, had started raising question that why Khatri had chosen the issue when the Central Government already gave July 2014 for implementation of the Act. ``It is better Khatri should launch agitation in support of cane growers or many other issues related to farmers instead of Food Security Act for which the state governments were already given time till July next for implementation", pointed a senior Congress leader adding that rout in recent Assembly elections had already pointed that Food Security Act is not coming to the rescue of Party so it is better to go for other public related problems. Besides the above, Khatri’s comment on Tuesday in Varanasi that people could forget price rise but could not forget inciting communal violence also invited criticism within the Party with most of leaders reacting that the Party had already paid the price of rising inflation but still the leaders were ignoring the sentiments of common man.