Pradeep Chhabra quits Congress, lashes out at former Chandigarh MP Pawan Kumar Bansal

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 6

A day after the city Congress decided to serve a show-cause notice on him, former city unit president Pradeep Chhabra today resigned from the primary membership of the party.

“An upright man shall never tolerate indignation and lies. Knowing when to walk away is wisdom, being able to is courage, walking away with your head held high is dignity. I resign from the primary membership of the Congress. An official, detailed resignation will follow,” the former Mayor posted on Twitter in the morning.

In his resignation letter to national party president Sonia Gandhi, he levelled several allegations against former MP Pawan Kumar Bansal.

“...I was being treated as a puppet, who was controlled by Bansal...after 2013, the party has gone into a coma. No other party worker but only Bansal is responsible for the electoral loss here...he has been running the party like a private company and obliging only people close to him,” he alleged.

On reasons behind the tussle, he alleged, “In 2020, I had started a rasoi with the slogan, “Congress ki rasoi, bhukha soye na koi”, for helping people suffering due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of being happy, Bansal was angry with me. Due to his ego, I was removed from the post of president without any intimation. I was happy with the change in the leadership, but I wasn’t happy with the way it had happened. Since the change in the leadership, Bansal and current president Subhash Chawla had sidelined me from all meetings of the city Congress. When I asked Chawla why I wasn’t being called for the meetings, he replied that first I had to apologise to Bansal for my behaviour and if he gives his consent, only then I would be called for the meetings.”

Bansal said, “Whatever he has said does not deserve my version.” His resignation follows nearly six months of exchange of barbs between Chhabra and Chawla. It was in February this year that the party high command had replaced Chhabra with Chawla at the top city unit post.

Chhabra has been attacking Chawla and Bansal since he was removed as the party president. The former Congress councillor has already formed the Chandigarh Progressive Front. As president of the front, he will raise city issues. It is believed that he may fight the forthcoming elections with a few Congress rebels and his associates or may collaborate with some party.