Cong leaders summoned to Delhi to stem infighting

SMA Kazmi

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 23

Congress general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand Ambika Soni has called a coordination committee meeting of state leaders in New Delhi tomorrow.

The meeting has been called to stem the growing differences between the state Congress government and the party organisation and also to chalk out a strategy for the forthcoming state Assembly elections.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat, state party president Kishore Upadhyay, co-incharge Sanjay Kapoor, senior ministers Indira Hridayesh and Pritam Singh along with other senior Congress leaders are expected to attend the meeting.

The meeting assumes significance as the party high command has finally taken cognizance of the growing differences between Harish Rawat and Upadhyay.

Upadhyay, a protégé of Harish Rawat, was uneasy with his mentor on the issue of dropping of ministers belong to the Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), a conglomerate of six legislators belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Independents and a lone Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD),which supported the Congress government.

He was personally perturbed since Rawat refused to drop Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai, an independent, who defeated him from Tehri in the 2012 Assembly poll.

Upadhyay believed that the support to the Tourism Minister was an attempt to undermine him politically in his hometown.

But the final break in their relationship came when the Chief Minister decided to back Pradeep Tamta, another protégé from Kumaon, for the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand.

After the exit of all senior Congress leaders in the March rebellion, Upadhyay hoped that he would be preferred for the Rajya Sabha seat. But Rawat had another plan which infuriated him. He alleged discrimination against the Garhwal region by the present government. The issue of discrimination against the Garhwal is also likely to come up in the meeting.

The recent incident in which a party delegation seeking a probe into all alleged corruption scandals was also seen as an attempt by the party organisation to settle scores with the Chief Minister. In a recent salvo, Upadhyay has demanded that party organisation leaders be given ministerial positions.

According to party sources, besides counselling of both these leaders, the strategy for the forthcoming Assembly poll would also be discussed in the coordination committee meeting.