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Sajjan Kumar denies hand in appointment of APMC chief

Staff Reporter

He has written letter to Sonia Gandhi clarifying his position "I have nothing to do with the appointment. My viewpoint was not taken".

NEW DELHI: : The ongoing controversy over appointment of J. K. Bansal as Chairman of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) is all set to take an interesting turn. The Member of Parliament from Outer Delhi, Sajjan Kumar, whose name had been dragged into the controversy, is understood to have written to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, as well as the party general secretary in charge of Delhi affairs, Ashok Gehlot.

The matter came into focus after it was raised at the meeting with the Congress president on April 25 by the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president, Ram Babu Sharma. It was pointed out that Mr. Bansal was made the Chairman without following any criteria and he had nothing to do with agricultural affairs or the farmers' cause. At the Executive Committee meeting of the DPCC, the former APMC Azadpur chairman, Rajinder Sharma, had raised the matter and termed Mr. Bansal as an outsider with no knowledge of the market.

However, the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, is understood to have stated that Mr. Bansal was reportedly appointed at the behest of Mr. Kumar and she had no role to play in this. The Chief Minister is understood to have stated that she took little interest in such appointments and had only given her go-ahead to the proposal put forward by the Department concerned.

Dedicated party workers

However, Mr. Kumar has not taken kindly to the whole matter and has strongly denied any hand in the appointment. and I had always opposed induction of such people into such important posts that should go to dedicated party workers and leaders,'' he said.

Mr. Kumar has also written a letter to Ms. Gandhi to clarify the whole situation and convey the fact that he was in no way involved in the appointment of Mr. Bansal. He is also understood to have met Mr. Gehlot and conveyed to him in writing his sentiments and the misleading campaign launched by certain loyalists to drag his name into the controversy.

Mr. Kumar, who is also the head of the Rural Development Board, has still not got office, staff or any other facility for running the activities of the Board even after its constitution more than seven months ago. He is operating from his residence at 16 Ashoka Road and holds the meeting of the Board at Delhi Secretariat in Players Building. He is sore that while officials managing the affairs of various Boards and Corporations have been given plush offices and are enjoying various facilities, an elected representative from the country's largest parliamentary constituency has been denied even basic facilities.

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