Deora targets Nirupam, seeks ‘change’ in MRCC

Mumbai: The factionalism in the Mumbai unit of the Congress party has once again come to the fore with former Member of Parliament (MP) of south Mumbai Milind Deora on Tuesday indicating that he was not happy with the leadership of party’s Mumbai president Sanjay Nirupam. He accused Mr Nirupam of  not taking other leaders into confidence.

Mr Deora also said that he would reconsider fighting the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls and wouldn’t want to be in politics if the current situation prevailed. In a series of tweets, Mr Deora said Mumbai Congress cannot become a cricket pitch for sectarian politics with leaders pitted against each other. He said he did not intend to discuss internal party affairs in public, but remarks made in a recent interview had forced him to repeat his strong commitment towards the need for Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) to remain a symbol of the city’s diversity.

When contacted, Mr Deora said, “Mumbai Congress has failed to bring all party people together and it needs to fix that.” Mr Nirupam has been facing the heat from other factions in the party for a long time now.

 “There are difference of opinions between him (Mr Nirupam) and other leaders. The party will have to address this as soon as possible,” Mr Deora said. He also pointed out that people opposing Mr Nirupam’s style of functioning have also written a letter to the party high command demanding change in the city leadership.

The former MP said that a president of Mumbai Congress has to bring people across the community and economic strata together. “People like me at times feel disappointed in such situations. One of the reasons I may even reconsider whether it is worth fighting the election or not is because of the present situation in Mumbai,” Mr Deora said to a news channel.