NEW DELHI: The former Haryana Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal, has resigned from the post of president of the State Congress, upset over the "humiliation" of the grassroots-level workers by the party and the Bhupinder Singh Hooda Government.

Mr. Bhajan Lal is also upset that his loyalists, including his son and Bhiwani MP Kuldeep Bishnoi, have not found place in the recently reconstituted Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee.

Party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi, in-charge of party affairs in the State, however, said neither he nor the party president's office had received any resignation letter, an unsigned copy of which was made available to the media here by Mr. Bhajan Lal's followers.

Mr. Dwivedi said no injustice was done either to Mr. Bhajan Lal, who was the Chief Minister for over a decade, or his sons, one of whom is Deputy Chief Minister, while another is a MP.

The party had recently served a show cause notice on Mr. Bishnoi after he raised questions about the Reliance-Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation special economic zone deal.

`Painful time'

In his letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Bhajan Lal said developments in Haryana during the last 15 months have been "very painful and agonising" for people. "The state of affairs in the party in Haryana is pathetic due to non-fulfilment of promises made to people by the party."

The recent PCC list has "broken all bounds of patience in the hearts and minds of the real Congress workers at the grassroots level, who have fought every battle" against the likes of O.P. Chautala, Bansi Lal and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"I personally have dedicated my entire life for the betterment of the people of Haryana and to strengthen the Congress at all times," he said. Keeping these developments in mind and the "unacceptable treatment meted out to the Congress workers by the party and the State Government," he was resigning from his post.

Mr. Bhajan Lal's move is seen as an attempt to bring out in the open the Jat versus non-Jat power tussle in Haryana.

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