Congress leader urges workers to choose violence

Bhopal: Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) executive president Ramdayal Uike stirred a row on Tuesday by making party workers take a vow to choose path of violence to dislodge the Raman Singh government from power in the forthcoming assembly elections in the state, due in November this year.

“If needed, take recourse to violence by using cans and bullets (guns) to dislodge BJP from power” in Chhattisgarh in the ensuing assembly elections, the tribal MLA exhorted the Congress workers gathered at the “Sankalp Shibir” (camp where workers are administered oath), organised by the party at Sinthia village under Palli assembly constituency in Korba district in Chhattisgarh. Hundreds of party workers who participated in the camp were administered the oath by the Congress leader. The party would organize “Sankalp Shibirs” in all the 90 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh, campaign committee chairman of the Chhattisgarh PCC and former Union minister Charan Das Mahant, who was present on the occasion, told the media. Ruling BJP in Chhattisgarh has reacted sharply to the development and regretted that Congress was speaking the language of Maoists by calling upon its workers to take recourse to violence. “BJP condemns the actions by the Congress leader to provoke his party workers to resort to violence in the forthcoming elections. He was speaking the language of Maoists and seemed to have no faith in democracy and constitution of India”, a spokesman of Chhattisgarh BJP told this newspaper.

AICC general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh P L Puniya however tried to play down the incident.