Other States - Himachal Pradesh   

Mankotia comes out against Virbhadra

By Our Staff Correspondent

SHIMLA, SEPT.28. Agitated over his removal from the State Cabinet, Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, the senior Congress leader, today came out against the Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, alleging discrimination against his home district of Kangra. He challenged some of the close confidants of Mr. Singh who had issued a statement accusing him of anti-party activities.

Major Mankotia said he was a diehard Congressman acknowledging the leadership of the party president, Sonia Gandhi, at every step and did not need a certificate of loyalty from some leaders from Kangra.

Addressing a press conference here today, Major Mankotia said he did not know why four Ministers from Kangra were dropped during the downsizing exercise of the Ministry. "Much smaller districts like Shimla, Chamba and Una are having more than the required quota of Ministers."

The former Tourism Minister declared that he was committed to Ms. Gandhi's leadership and had fought a battle against the BJP under her leadership and guidance. The campaign against the BJP, he claimed, had started from his constituency, Shahpur, "where a historic rally was addressed by the Congress president which created an anti-BJP wave in the State".

Major Mankotia, who is also the president of the Ex-Servicemen's Federation, said that Kangra had a predominantly ex-Servicemen's population. "The party had made big promises to ex-servicemen but they are not addressed to by the present Congress leadership in the State," he added. On the other hand, the BJP had cashed in on the slogan of disparity and discrimination against Kangra and exploited these feelings, he pointed out.

Asked if he would leave the party, Major Mankotia said, "We had made the greatest contribution in bringing the Congress back to power. Now talking of regional imbalances is no offence. I will submit all the details about this biased attitude to the Congress president shortly."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

Mankotia comes out against Virbhadra

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu