Thursday, 14 April 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Though organisational leaders have continued to downplay talk of upheaval in the Congress, many MLAs of the party were reportedly slated to hold a meeting in Dehradun late on Wednesday night to discuss and decide their future course of action. The group of MLAs is dissatisfied with the party’s State in-charge and central leadership for what they term is an unfair decision while selecting party leaders for the positions of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president, Congress legislature party (CLP) chief and deputy chief.
Talking to media persons on Wednesday, Dharchula MLA Harish Dhami blamed the party’s state in-charge for decisions which were detrimental to the party. Stating that he had nothing against the leaders appointed to the posts of PCC chief, CLP leader and deputy leader, Dhami said that if these choices were based on merit as stated by the state in-charge then there were other contenders who were stronger on merit. “If the appointments were made on the basis of merit, I have been elected thrice from Dharchula. MLAs Manoj Tiwari and Mayukh Mahar were also strong contenders if one goes by merit,” said the Dharchula MLA.
Rejecting speculation on the disgruntled MLAs joining the Bharatiya Janata Party, he said that the MLAs will hold discussions and take a unanimous decision in the interests of the people who voted them to office. Though Dhami claimed that the MLAs would meet and discuss their future course of action on Wednesday night, he did not divulge the specifics like the number of MLAs who had agreed to attend the meeting. Meanwhile, the Pradesh Congress Committee president Karan Mahara said that talk of the meeting of the disgruntled MLAs was mere hearsay. Talking to the media persons here on Wednesday afternoon, the PCC chief said that the MLAs should also remember that the people had voted for them on the basis of the party symbol and ideology. They had been elected as MLAs and had not become gods, he added.
While uncertainty prevails over the future of the CLP in Uttarakhand, some political analysts opine that though Harish Dhami has given strong hints about him considering leaving the party, the dissent and reaction to it could also be part of pressure politics being played among factions within the party.
