Cong Leaders Rally Against Prasada

A large number of Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh led by former Union Minister Salman Khursheed, mounted pressure on party high command, through general secretary Tariq Anwar who is incharge of UP, to clip the wings of party vice president Jitendra Prasada in Uttar Pradesh.

This was the second organise offensive against Jitendra Prasada this month who was said to be behind disturbances in a party rally in Pratapgarh recently when it was being addressed by party president Sitaram Kesri. Following his nomination as national vice president, Prasada has resigned from the UPCC chiefs post. A successor is yet to be named.

There was a talk in the anti-Prasada camp of former UP Chief Minister N D Tiwari becoming the new UPCC chief. Tariq Anwar said he was aware of the aspirations of UP functionaries. Several names have cropped up. However, he said a new leaders nomination may take time.

Anwar refused he would convey the sentiments of the partymen who met him yesterday to the party president. On the issue of congress partnership with other parties in UP, Anwar said the Congress would keep a distance from both BSP and the Samajwadi Party in the State and try to build an idependent base for itself.

We will address the issue of whether to align with any of the two parties at all, when the time nears for elections, Anwar told Business Standard.

Salman Khursheed refused to be drawn into the issue of leadership. We donnt care who is the leader. We want the leader to be driven by a programme to be directed by the party president, Khursheed told journalists at AICC office after a meeting of the UP leaders earlier at the Constitution Club.

When asked about the possibility of Tiwari taking over in the State, Salman Khursheed said Tiwariji is a towering leader. However, he added that this was just his discription and not a suggestion of anything.

The UP leaders want the party to clarify its stand on issues like a separate Uttarakhand, Ayodhya, communalism and secularism. Asked what prompted them to seek a clear cut stand on the issues, Salman Khursheed said we often say one thing and do one thing on these issues in the State.

UP leaders feel that once the party president directed a clear-cut programme for the State, all UP leaders would be forced to abandon their respective separate agenda.

Interestingly, while the group owing allegience to Jitendra Prasada wants the party to ally with the BSP, there are others who feel the party should ally with the Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh.