Investors’ meet: Cong in catch-22 situation

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, November 3

The Congress seems to be in catch-22 situation after getting an invite from the state government to attend the investors’ meet. The state government has invited all the Opposition MLAs for the meet.

The state government has extended the invite and also booked rooms for all the MLAs of the state. Today, none of the senior Congress leaders was willing to come forward to state whether they would attend the meet or not. CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri did not respond despite repeated calls and messages on his mobile phone, while calls to HPCC president Kuldeep Rathore remained unanswered. Former HPCC president and Congress MLA Sukhwinder Sukhu was also not available for comment.

Former Congress MLA and general secretary of HPCC, Ajay Mahajan, when contacted on phone, said that as per his conversation with senior leaders, the party had left the decision to attend the investors’ meet or not to respective MLAs and leaders. “I had a word with CWC member and Congress MLA from Dalhousie Asha Kumari and she was not coming,” he said. Congress MLA from Kangra Pawan Kajal issued a statement today welcoming the investors’ meet but said that the investment should come to Kangra region also. He said that many projects such as IT Park in Dharamsala, the foundation stone of which was laid by former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, were in limbo and should be completed.

During campaigning for the recent Assembly elections, Congress leaders had made investors’ meet an issue. Agnihotri had termed the meet a farce and alleged that it was an exercise to sell the state land to outsiders. Many other Congress leaders had also termed the meet a wasteful expenditure.

After the state government has extended an invitation to all Congress MLAs, the party leaders are undecided whether to attend the event or not. A few Congress leaders, on the condition of anonymity, said that they should not attend the meet as they were never part of the policy making for the meet. They said it was more of a party event with the BJP top brass from the Centre attending it. With the government inviting Congress MLAs, it remains to be seen how the party leaders react to the state government move.

‘Asha Kumari won’t attend’

As per my conversation with senior leaders, the Congress has left the decision to attend the investors' meet to respective MLAs and leaders. I had a word with CWC member and Congress MLA from Dalhousie Asha Kumari. She is not attending (the meet). Ajay Mahajan, HPCC General secretary