Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) chief Ajoy Kumar spit venom and tore apart the senior leadership of the party here in a three-page resignation letter addressed to Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday.
The former Jamshedpur MP, known for his prompt replies and vocal attitude, accused veteran leaders here of inappropriate behaviour, malafide intentions and self-centered approach, which according to him were plaguing the Congress party from the inside in Jharkhand.
His decision to step down from the position came hardly 12 hours prior to the Congress Working Committee’s meeting in New Delhi, which was supposed to decide Kumar’s fate in the State unit of the party. “Six Congress seats from Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha elections were an extremely real possibility if only our leaders had put the party’s interest above theirs. All our senior leaders in Jharkhand only fight for their families,” Kumar said in his resignation letter.
Kumar’s position as the JPCC’s president became the bone of contention in the Congress party here soon after the party tasted defeat in 17th Lok Sabha polls. The party was evidently divided over choice of leadership in Jharkhand, and the bottled up differences among party factions broke open last month. Supporters of Kumar and former union minister Subodh Kant Sahay got into an ugly tussle outside the party headquarters in Ranchi, which rang the alarm bell for the party’s high command in New Delhi.
“My patience tested its limit when my own party members hired goons to assault me in the party office,” Kumar wrote in his resignation letter to Gandhi.
Meanwhile, taking a dig at the resignation of Ajoy Kumar, State BJP Spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said that Kumar’s resignation letter has spilled the beans of the JPCC. “BJP has been saying that nepotism is paramount in Congress and the letter of Ajay Kumar has confirmed it. Kumar has revealed that most of the senior Congress leaders have put pressure to get tickets for their sons and daughters.
This whole episode clearly shows that there is no question of common worker and those raising the flag of the party,” said Shahdeo.
The BJP Spokesperson said that according to Dr Ajay, former Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay wants to give ticket to his brother from Hatia, Pradeep Balmuchu wants to fight from Khunti and wants a ticket for his daughter from Ghatshila. Furkan Ansari not only wanted to contest the Lok Sabha elections himself but is also lobbying to get both his son and daughter an Assembly ticket. Apart from this, Dadai Dubey is also strongly advocating for his son's ticket. Pratul said that when the State president is making such allegations against the top leadership of the party, then the position of the inner core of the Congress becomes clear. In Congress, only the leadership of the Gandhi family at the center and the sons and daughters of elder leaders in state units shines.
He said that just as the Soren family has a monopoly over Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, in the same way, the Congress is dominated by big leaders and their sons and daughters.
Shahdeo said that Dr. Ajay Kumar released his resignation letter in public for the first time today even though he had earlier announced his resignation.
This means that the resignation he had announced earlier was a drama. Such a step cannot be expected from a person who has remained PCC president. This is a vivid example of Congress's current work culture.