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Two Akhilesh Das loyalists quit Congress

Photo: Subir Roy

Protest: UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Congress Legislator Party leader Promod Tewari and others during a march against Mayawati Government in Lucknow on Friday.

LUCKNOW: Even as the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee staged a demonstration and a padayatra in protest against the Mayawati Government here in the State capital on Friday, two Akhilesh Das loyalists, Siraj Mehndi and Hanuman Tripathi, announced their resignation from the party.

The Congress padayatra was in protest against “the failure of the Mayawati Government to arrest the price rise” and “the deteriorating law and order situation” in the State. The police resorted to mild action at the Novelty crossing as the Congressmen attempted to march to the Vidhan Sabha.

Former MLC Siraj Mehndi is the vice-president of the Pradesh Congress Committee and Mr. Hanuman Tripathi the general secretary of the State unit of the party. UP Youth Congress secretary Nehal Khan also resigned from the party.

In their resignation letters sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Mehndi and Mr. Tripathi accused PCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi of managing the party affairs in an arbitrary manner. They questioned her appointment as the PCC president on the ground that she was in the Samajwadi Party in the past and has a history of losing elections.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Mehndi said that Mr. Akhilesh Das was forced to leave the party and the Rajya Sabha earlier this week because senior Congressmen were being sidelined. He alleged that the Congress president’s “advisers” refused to meet any of the State party leaders.

Mr. Mehndi alleged that “Kanishka Singh, who is an adviser to Rahul Gandhi, is hell-bent on finishing the Congress by keeping the leaders loyal to Mr. Gandhi at an arm’s length”.

Meanwhile, the UP Congress president, accompanied by the Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari, former Chief Minister Ram Naresh Yadav and other senior Congressmen led the padayatra in protest against the Mayawati Government. The padayatra began at Shaheed Smarak and culminated at the Gandhi statue in Hazratganj.

Similar demonstrations and padayatras were staged in district headquarters across the State.

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Two Akhilesh Das loyalists quit Congress

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