Several Chandigarh Congress office-bearers resign, seek Harmohinder Singh Lucky’s removal

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, April 15

Two days after Manish Tewari was declared Congress candidate from the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, several Congress office-bearers close to Pawan Kumar Bansal resigned from their posts, seeking removal of party president Harmohinder Singh Lucky over his “Khela Hua” post on social media against the four-time MP.

Those who resigned include Chandigarh INTUC president Naseeb Jakhar, Mahila wing president Deepa Dubey, party vice-president Hafiz Anwar Ul Haq, former Mayor Harphool Kalyan, Congress leader Ravi Thakur and others. Sources said more, including councillors, were expected to resign on Tuesday.

They raised slogans seeking removal of Lucky and in favour of Bansal, outside Dubey’s Sector 15 house. They also alleged that Lucky was hand in glove with the BJP, and allegedly destroying the party. The leaders said they were agitated with Lucky for sharing a post on social media reading “Bansal ke sath hua khela” after Tewari was named the candidate.

Jakhar said, “We are with the congress. Our respectful leader Bansal gave a lot to Chandigarh and served the party for about 40 years. If a president is sharing such a post from his WhatsApp or Instagram, what could be more unfortunate than this? On one hand, elections are on, on the other hand, attempts are being made to put down Bansal. We are totally against it. Under Lucky, non-political and non-Congress people also sit in the Congress Bhawan.”

Dubey said they were giving resignation from posts and not from primary membership of the party. “There is such an environment in the Congress office that being a Mahila leader I cannot go there. He disrespected Bansal ji by writing Khela hua. If he remains president, no one will come to the party office,” she said.

Haq said, “All office-bearers will resign gradually. Lucky has made Congress Bhawan a property dealer’s office. It seems he has been managed by some agencies to favour the BJP.”

Lucky had favoured a fresh face before the party high command, which meant any candidate other than Bansal should be considered. Lucky along with Tewari was shortlisted for the posts. After this, Bansal and Lucky supporters had even had a face-off in front of a party incharge Rajeev Shukla in a meeting.

On this development, the Congress chief said he has not received resignation even from a single office-bearer. “It all happens in ‘chunavi masuam’. Sometimes when ticket of a probable is not considered, these things happen for a few days. My young professional team handles my X account. Even if they have shared something inadvertently, it does not mean I disrespect Bansal ji,” Lucky said.

Bansal said he was not aware about resignations of office-bearers before someone told him about it. He said he would talk to them.

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