According to sources, the issue of ticket distribution has created quite a stir among senior leaders after the candidates recommended by them were not given a chance.
As municipal elections in the Capital draw closer, trouble brewing within the Congress has started brimming to the surface. Just a day after the party came out with its list of candidates, veteran party leader Dr AK Walia submitted his resignation after expressing his unhappiness with the ticket distribution. He said he is yet to take back his resignation.
According to sources, the issue of ticket distribution has created quite a stir among senior leaders after the candidates recommended by them were not given a chance.
"The Congress leadership treats veteran leaders like Class VIII students. There are four tickets in our ward. I was promised all four, but we were given only three. We have been disturbed since last night, and nobody has reached out to us. There have been many discussions and I have been assured by the top leadership that the issue will be resolved. I am waiting for them to fulfil their promise," Walia said.
Besides him, former Congress MP from east Delhi, Sandeep Dixit, and senior leaders Haroon Yusuf and Pervez Hashmi have also threatened to quit the party. Three-time Congress MLA, Dalit leader, and ex-Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Assembly, Amrish Gautam, made matters worse by joining the BJP on Monday. He has represented Kondli and erstwhile Patparganj Assembly seats.
"Right now, the party is working like a fiefdom. Unfortunately, senior leaders such as PC Chacko also believe in this concept. This is not something that has surprised me. This has been going on for a while and has led to a big mess," Dixit told DNA.
"We were born as Congress people. Our forefathers also worked for the party. The state leadership should have given some respect to our suggestions. I was an MLA in my constituency for 23 years and have been associated with the party for quite long. I am a disciplined soldier of the party and I want the leadership of Delhi to be sensitive to the feelings of senior leaders," Yusuf said.
Commenting on the issue, former Cabinet Minister Arvinder Singh and ex-DPCC Chief Arvinder Singh Lovely said the sentiments of senior leaders had been hurt, and that everybody needed to sit and work together to ensure the party wins the municipal polls.
"Senior leaders such as Dr Walia are an asset for the party. It is clear that his feelings have been hurt. We understand that the tickets cannot be given to everyone but the respect for leaders should be maintained. This is something that has gone wrong and needs to be corrected," Lovely said.
Denying any such rift, however, Delhi Congress Spokesperson Sharmishtha Mukherjee said, "Walia Ji has not resigned. There has been no formal resignation, and as of now, he is very much part of the party. He is a very senior and respected leader of the party. If there was any misunderstanding, it has been sorted out. Waliaji, Haroon Yusufji, and Hashmi sahib are all going to stay within the party."
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