After a brief lull, infighting has raised its head in the UP Congress once again and this time, trouble is brewing in Sultanpur which is next door to Amethi and Rae Bareli.
After a brief lull, infighting has raised its head in the UP Congress once again and this time, trouble is brewing in Sultanpur which is next door to Amethi and Rae Bareli.
Two senior party leaders from Sultanpur, Sandip Tiwari and Surendra Shukla, have sent their resignations in protest against their alleged “demotion” in the party.
Sandip Tiwari, a senior leader who was known for his proximity to Capt. Satish Sharma during the Rajiv Gandhi rule, said, “I have been humiliated by Dr Sanjay Sinh and have been demoted to the post of DCC general secretary despite the fact that I have been a three-time UPCC secretary and a five-time member of the same committee. I have sent in my resignation.”
The other leader, Surendra Shukla, also from Sultanpur, also confirmed having sent his resignation on similar grounds. The leaders claimed that more resignations were on the way.
Both the leaders blamed their decision on the “high-handedness” of Dr Sanjay Sinh, Congress MP, who they claimed was an outsider.
UPCC chief Nirmal Khatri said he was not aware of the resignations since he had been out of Lucknow for party work.
Sources, meanwhile, said that the main reason for this resentment was the appointment of one Krishna Kumar Misra, a.k.a. Munnu Bhaiyya, as DCC president in Sultanpur.
Krishna Kumar Misra had been suspended in 2011 for six years by party president Sonia Gandhi along with five others for anti-party activities. Dr Sanjay Sinh brought him back into the party fold even before his suspension period was over.
“At a time when Mrs Sonia Gandhi is abroad for her medical check up, Dr Sinh has stabbed her in the back by giving key positions to those who had worked against the party,” said Sandip Tiwari.
In his letter to the party chief, Mr Tiwari has said that elements like Dr Sanjay Sinh were harming the party prospects by promoting undeserving elements. He said he would continue to work as party worker, but would not take up the post handed out to him by a Sonia-baiter.
