The Hindu : As charges fly thick and fast, Congress keeps everyone guessing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 02, 2004

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Other States - Himachal Pradesh

As charges fly thick and fast, Congress keeps everyone guessing

By Kanwar Yogendra

SHIMLA, APRIL 1. The Congress party, which is yet to finalise its complete list of candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections, has so far been unable to instil any confidence among its cadres to face the aggressive BJP. Worse, "factional fights" in the party is adding fuel to the fire. Allegations flew thick and fast at a meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee here on Wednesday between the two groups owing allegiance to the PCC president, Vidya Stokes, and the Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, leading to a further erosion in the morale of the workers in the State.

"The Chief Minister should not have spoken so openly in a PCC meeting about his reservations on some newly inducted party office-bearers," say the leaders of the so-called Vidya Stokes faction. The Chief Minister categorically said here yesterday that he is not satisfied with the kind of people being brought in the PCC. "They are contractors or power brokers and do not have any mass base or acceptability in the party," said an agitated Mr. Singh and added that "they are openly slighting me."

The Chief Minister vowed he would never come to a PCC meeting again unless the body is reorganised with fresh organisational elections.

Mrs. Stokes, who is also a Minister in the Virbhadra Singh government repeated the same charges and said she has also been humiliated by Mr. Singh's supporters from time to time. She claimed that she had asked the Chief Minister before reconstituting the PCC this time.

The supporters of PCC president are alleging that they have not been rewarded by the Chief Minister even after his Government assumed office.

It is also the result of severe factionalism that the party high command is not able to decide the candidate for the Mandi Parliamentary seat so far. The supporters of Mrs. Stokes feel that the Chief Minister is deliberately creating a situation where his wife Pratibha Singh could get the ticket. They allege that Kaul Singh Thakur, a close confidant of Mr. Singh is refusing the party ticket at the behest of latter.

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As charges fly thick and fast, Congress keeps everyone guessing