Skipping ‘shivirs’ political loss for Cong leaders: Tanwar

CHANDIGARH: Remaining absent from party’s “manthan shivirs’’ (camps to discuss party issues and strategies) will be a personal and political loss for Congress leaders, party Haryana chief Ashok Tanwar cautioned on Friday.

Here to chair a meeting of party office-holders from seven districts to chalk out his March 5 cycle rally, Tanwar said the party high command was in the know of leaders who were remaining absent from the party’s “manthan shivirs”, and it will be their personal and political loss.

The statement was addressed to about 12 sitting MLAs and other leaders, owing allegiance to former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who have not been attending meetings or programmes called by Tanwar for the past about two years.

Even as bad blood seems to be spreading in the Haryana Congress, Hooda supporters have consistently been demanding Hooda as the state party chief.

There were evident instances of infighting between Hooda and Tanwar supporters during the state organisational election meetings as well in the past. While Hooda supporters alleged there were bogus party memberships, Tanwar’s supporters rejected their claim.

It may be recalled that the differences between the two leaders had become only too evident after a clash broke out between their supporters in New Delhi in October 2016, while waiting to welcome party vice-president Rahul Gandhi. Besides some of his supporters, Tanwar was also injured in the clash.

His supporters had lodged a police complaint against several people, including Hooda’s personal security officer.

Elaborating on the need for all leaders’ participation in the ongoing “shivirs”, Tanwar categorically said the party leadership will take note of the leaders skipping party events while deciding on giving party tickets for the forthcoming elections.

“It is like being a regular or a correspondent student, and the ones not attending any class and skipping tests will have no future,” he said in lighter vein.

He said his “Haryana Bachao, Parivartan Lao” cycle rally will begin from Kalka on March 5. The Friday’s meeting was attended by district-level leaders of Panchkula, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Karnal and Kaithal, who discussed the route and other arrangements for the cycle rally.

To other questions, he termed the BJP national president Amit Shah’s rally in Jind as sheer wastage of public money even as it was a flop show with 10 of the total 28 blocks being totally unoccupied.

He also accused the opposition party Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) as being “team B” of the ruling BJP.

Party leadership will take note of the leaders skipping party events while deciding on giving tickets for the forthcoming elections. ASHOK TANWAR, Haryana Cong chief