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Mirdha puts an end to speculation

JAIPUR: Veteran Congressman Ram Niwas Mirdha on Saturday put an end to speculation that he might play a role in leading the disgruntled elements in the Rajasthan unit of the Congress after the recent appointments to the Pradesh Congress Committee and the Congress Legislature Party by clarifying his position before journalists at the PCC office here.

Mr. Mirdha’s recent meeting with senior Congressman and former Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Parasram Maderna had led to speculation that he would take up the cause of the Jat community in the Congress.

It was also reported that Mr. Mirdha, father of the newly appointed AICC secretary Harendra Mirdha, had requested Mr. Maderna to return to active politics.

“My meeting with Mr. Maderna was to discuss ways to strengthen the Congress in Rajasthan. The reports that I had asked him to become active are not correct. Each individual party man has to get active to strengthen the Congress,” said Mr. Mirdha talking to journalists.

Mr. Mirdha, a pioneer in the cooperative movement in the country, was here to address a convention of those associated with the cooperatives at the PCC office premises.

While conceding that there were differences within the party in Rajasthan, Mr. Mirdha said they were not as serious as was being projected. “Any democratic party would have differences. There is nothing unusual about it,” he said. The newly appointed PCC president C.P. Joshi also was present.

While Mr. Mirdha chose not to respond to a query whether the State would have a Jat Chief Minister from the Congress next, said he did not think of himself in caste terms. If the Jat community was unhappy with the Congress, the party would have to work in their midst to bring them back.

“Just giving a post or making a placement of someone from the community would not have the necessary impact,” he said pointing out that the party should win back the confidence of the farming communities in general.

Terming the BJP policies as “anti-poor”, Mr. Mirdha said the recent amendment of the Cooperatives Act by the State had taken away the democratic framework from the legislation. “With the amendments in the Act, the State Government can remove an elected board of directors and place the body under the charge of an administrator. The cooperative bodies can go on for years without holding elections to them,” he charged.

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