Patna,(BiharTimes): The state-level meeting of newly-elected delegates of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee held at party’s headquarters in Patna on Monday was marred by clashes and allegations in manipulation of selection of delegates.
The outgoing BPCC chief Ashok Chaudhary charged that his supporters were prevented from entering the meeting at the party headquarters in Sadaquat Ashram.
Only on Sunday the Chaudhary camp had accused former Union minister Akhilesh Singh, a front-runner for the post of state president, of dancing to the tune of Lalu Prasad Yadav as the former was earlier in the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Akhilesh, however, hotly denied the allegation stating that he had left the RJD in 2010 and has no ties with Lalu.
One of Ashok Chaudhary’s supporters even shouted slogans in favour of prime minister Narendra Modi stating that though earlier he was in the Congress he is now no more in the party.
Ashok Chaudhary, it must be recalled, was among those Congress leaders who wanted to support Nitish Kumar after he broke rank with Grand Alliance.
But since Chaudhary was in a minority and could not muster the support of two-thirds of his party’s legislators he was sacked from the post and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi made Kaukab Qadri working president of the state unit of the party.
Earlier on Sunday, Congress leaders from different districts stormed the party headquarters in protest against what they called manipulations in the organisational elections across the state.
Led by Munna Pandey, general secretary of the Nalanda district unit of the party, they arrived at the Sadaquat Ashram and laid siege to Kaukab Quadri in his official chamber.
They shouting slogans against the results of the organisational elections through which 1,240 delegates were elected. These delegates will play an important role in the nomination of names for state Congress president.
Pandey charged that names of several elected delegates from different districts have been removed on the directions of the senior leaders.
Later, Kaukab's supporters rushed to shout slogans in his favour.
Reports from party sources said that the high command may take disciplinary action against Ashok Chaudhary after what happened on Sunday and Monday.
