Published 11:32 IST, June 30th 2019
Tension within Congress after PC Chacko overturns Sheila Dikshit's dissolution of 280 block committees
All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Delhi unit, PC Chacko's stay on Delhi Congress President Sheila Dikshit's decision to dissolve all 280 block-level committees has led to heated situations within the party here.
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All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Delhi unit, PC Chacko's stay on Delhi Congress President Sheila Dikshit's decision to dissolve all 280 block-level committees led to heated situations within the party .
PC Chacko stayed the decision on Friday after a faction of Congress leaders met him. He also sent copies of his letter to Sheila Dikshit and Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
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Delhi Congress leaders, including Sheila Dikshit and PC Chacko, met Rahul Gandhi on Friday, who advised them to work unitedly in the wake of Assembly polls in Delhi scheduled to be held early next year. However, Dikshit, taking cognizance of a report by a committee formed by her to probe the party's debacle in recent Lok Sabha polls, dissolved all the block committees hours after meeting Gandhi.
Following this, in protest of Sheila Dikshit's move, a delegation of senior party leaders met Congress leader KC Venugopal against PC Chacko's intervention on Saturday. The delegation consisted of leaders such as Parvez Hashmi, Kiran Walia and Ramakant Goswami amongst others.
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"We told the two leaders that the block committees and their presidents were elected and they can not be dissolved all of a sudden before Assembly elections since it takes a lot of time to form them," said Chatar Singh, who was in the meeting.
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"The PCC president (Sheila Dikshit) has the right to dissolve and appoint block committees," sources in the party said.
The Delhi unit of Congress had apparently failed to recover from differences among its leaders, with the people opposing Shelia Dikshit, claiming that the block committees were dissolved "unilaterally" by her without consulting PC Chacko.
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The block committees were elected last year when Ajay Maken headed the Delhi Congress."The decision to disband the block committees formed under presidentship of Ajay Maken is an attempt by Sheila Dikshit to assert her authority by reconstituting them under her leadership," said a senior Delhi Congress leader.
Another source added that Sheila Dikshit is upset with PC Chacko over the intervention and will not respond to his queries.
(With ANI inputs)
10:44 IST, June 30th 2019