The Hindu : New Delhi News : Agenda sidelined to attack CM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 20, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Agenda sidelined to attack CM

Staff Reporter

Close aides of Sheila Dikshit present at the DPCC meeting preferred to look the other way.

NEW DELHI: Originally the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee was convened to discuss conduct of the organisational elections, coordination between the party and the government and delimitation of constituencies. However, the whole agenda was sidelined to launch an attack on the Chief Minister, Sheila Diksht, in what seemed to be a pre-planned move.

When asked for her comments, Ms. Dikshit refused to comment. "I have no comments to make on what all happened there,'' she remarked.

Except for the Babarpur MLA, Vinay Sharma, who came out strongly in defence of the Chief Minister and urged everyone to maintain discipline even while indulging in criticism, even the close aides of Ms. Dikshit present during the meeting preferred to look the other way. They included the Parliamentary Secretary, Nasib Singh, and chief whip, Ramakant Goswami. They did not walk out with the Chief Minister and sat through the entire proceedings. Interestingly, the official agenda took a backseat and in a move that looked pre-planned, one after another the speakers criticised the Chief Minister, her Council of Ministers and the functioning of the Government.

Despite the DPCC president, Ram Babu Sharma, repeatedly asking the speakers not to deviate from the agenda and stop criticising Ms. Dikshit or her Government, most leaders took pot shots at the entire Government machinery. The large presence of dissidents during the meeting had made it clear that things were unlikely to be smooth for the Chief Minister.

Ms. Dikshit looked visibly upset at the manner in which the proceedings were being conducted and made her resentment known to the AICC general secretary in-charge, Ashok Gehlot, who was seated next to her. However, everybody was taken aback by the sudden walkout by the Chief Minister. The way the Government was criticised, it certainly appeared as if the dissidents had planned to take on Ms. Dikshit.

Observers feel the aim of the meeting had been defeated as the important issue of holding organisational polls and strengthening of the party at the booth level had been pushed into the background.

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