Rift out in open as Hooda camp MLAs skip party meet

CHANDIGARH : The differences between the former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar seem to be widening with time as about a dozen party MLAs having allegiance to Hooda stayed away from the meeting, chaired by former Union minister Pradeep Jain Aditya, to discuss the party’s state organisation election here on Tuesday.

Tanwar as HPCC president had invited all its office-holders, MLAs, ex-MLAs, MPs and ex-MPs to discuss organisational elections process of which is already on. While Hooda was said to be away to New Delhi, as many as 11 MLAs, including former speakers Raghubir Kadian, Kuldeep Sharma and others including Geeta Bhukkal, Anand Singh Dangi, Jai Tirath Dahiya, Jaiveer Balmiki, Shakuntala Khatak and Shri Krishan Hooda did not attend the meeting and instead opted to brief mediapersons later in the evening to show their solidarity with Hooda in Manesar land case.

Meanwhile, when asked about the absentee MLAs, Tanwar said that the party high command was in the know of such activities (absence of MLAs) and it would act in the context at an appropriate time.

On the other hand, when asked about their absence from the HPCC meeting, while Dangi avoided replying by saying that his only focus was on the said case in which Hooda was being falsely framed by ruling BJP government. However, Sharma minced no words in saying that all the party MLAs had already made it clear to the party high command that they wanted a change in state leadership.

It may be recalled that the MLAs belonging to Hooda camp had not attended HPCC meetings since October last year. They had even skipped the meeting called by Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Kiran Chaudhry before the recent budget session in March, 2017.

The differences got stark clear after a violent clash broke out between the supporters of Hooda and Tanwar in New Delhi on October 6, 2016, while waiting to welcome party vice president Rahul Gandhi. Besides some of his supporters, Tanwar was also injured in the clash while his supporters lodged a police case against several people, including a personal security officer of Hooda.

MEETING WAS CALLED BY STATE PARTY PRESIDENT ASHOK TANWAR