Senior Congress leaders in Uttar Pradesh are upset over the party high command’s apathy to their grievances, especially regarding the working of UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu.
The party veterans feel that marginalising all senior leaders by keeping them away from all organisational activities or by giving them assignments out of the state would take the party to a new low in Uttar Pradesh.
“Giving a free hand to Ajay Kumar Lallu and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s secretary Sandeep Singh to handle all the organisational activities in UP is the prerogative of the party high command but at the same time, ignoring all the seniors and even putting a ‘seal’ for their exit from the party without even listening to them is a serious concern of all devoted Congressmen who have spent their lives for this party,” said a veteran Congress leader who was a minister during the party’s golden days.
“Just see the manner in which the senior Congress leaders were either expelled or were forced to submit their resignation. The one common grievance of all of them is that they were unhappy at being ignored in all organisational activities by Ajay Kumar Lallu and his cohorts and also that the high command had no time even to hear their grievances,” the leader added while highlighting how over half-a-dozen senior Congress leaders, all former MPs, MLAs, ministers and AICC members, were shown the door by the UPCC chief as they called a meeting to discuss how the party could do better.
“Even former MP Anu Tandon in her resignation letter on Thursday directly blamed the working of Lallu and the manner in which AICC general secretary incharge UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, refused to hear her grievances,” the leader pointed out.
Supporting the claims of the former minister, a former president of UPCC said that it was shocking that the high command, instead of intervening to maintain a balance between the seniors and newcomers, chose either to get them thrown out of the party or gave them responsibility of some others states.
“PL Punia, RPN Singh, Jitin Prasada, Vivek Bansal, all senior leaders from Uttar Pradesh, were given responsibility of other states when their services are more needed in UP,” he said, adding that everyone knew that Lallu wanted to oust all veterans and the high command either gave him the green signal to issue expulsion orders or shifted senior leaders out of the state.
“We are already reduced to seven in the UP Assembly and a single seat in Lok Sabha, represented by Sonia Gandhi. We fear that the manner in which the party is functioning under Priyanka and Lallu, in the coming elections we will perform more badly than even some small regional parties,” the leader added.
