Infighting escalates in Delhi Congress, 29 leaders write to Rahul about 'complete confusion' in DPCC

Infighting in Delhi Congress seems to have escalated with 29 prominent party leaders writing to Rahul Gandhi complaining about the "complete state of confusion" in the DPCC.

"It seems that some confidants of the PCC president in Delhi are deliberately helping the BJP and the AAP. We pray for the good health and long-life of the PCC president Sheila Dikshit, who is currently hospitalised. However, there is complete confusion as to who is running the PCC in her absence," read the letter to Rahul.

The letter has been signed by 29 prominent Delhi Congress leaders.

This comes hours after three working Congress presidents of Delhi Congress and All India Congress Committee in-charge for Delhi, PC Chacko wrote to Sheila Dikshit expressing their disapproval over her "unauthorized" appointment of 14 District Congress Committee Observers and 280 Block Congress Committee Observers without consulting them.

"All three working presidents have written to Shiela Dixit ji but it is an internal correspondent. It should not be disclosed in the public," Rajesh Lilothia told ANI.

The office of Sheila Dikshit, however, denied receiving any such letter.

"On July 12, the DPCC appointed various observers for the District Congress Committee and Block Congress Committee units in Delhi. However, we are shocked to know that how can such an important decision be taken when the PCC president is in the hospital. This exercise requires in-depth consultation and deliberation. Hence, it seems that some people from behind the curtains are operating the affairs of the PCC," the letter further reads.

"The three working presidents, namely, Rajesh Lilothia, Devender Yadav and Haroon Yusuf are not being consulted in any recent decision making of the PCC. Hence, it is more alarming as to who are those people controlling the DPCC from the backend," they added.

They also flagged concern over the fact that no public issue was being raised from the dais of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) including on power tariff hike, poor Board results.

"Nothing was said on the communal tension in Hauz Qazi for which both the AAP and the BJP were to be blamed. Nothing was said on the failure of AAP government and BJP MCDs to take effective pre-monsoon steps to control dengue/malaria and desilting of drains. Apart from these issues, many other important public issues have gone unnoticed by the current PCC leadership," the leaders said in their letter.

"Virtual actions taken by the PCC President or by some unknown persons who are virtually in control of the DPCC are being taken under the garb of the recommendation of the five-member fact-finding committee formed for Delhi PCC after the Lok Sabha 2019 results. However, what report has the 5-member committee submitted is unknown to the Congressmen. Hence, there is total opacity and confusion in a democratic party like ours," they said.

The leaders in their letter said that by dissolving various Congress units in Delhi, the PCC is literally punishing thousands of dedicated workers and leaders, who worked very hard to resurrect the party in Delhi.

"You may recall that in 2015, the Congress Party only had 9 per cent vote share in the Assembly elections. In 2017, due to the immense hard work of Congressmen, we increased our vote share to 22 per cent in the MCD Elections and also in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections," the letter read.

"But the PCC president and her agents are outrightly punishing these Congressmen who had put in their blood and sweat in the past. More importantly, such decisions are only going to help the BJP and the AAP, as the Congress stands weakened," they added.

"Moreover, the complete lethargy by the current leadership in Delhi is also extremely worrisome. Hence, we request you to kindly take effective steps to bring order in the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee," they said.

The letter has been signed by 29 leaders including Hari Shankar Gupta, Nasseb Singh, Asif Mohd Khan, Brahm Yadav, Sharmistha Mukherjee, Jagjivan Sharma, Asha Gandhi, and Avdhesh Tanwar amongst others.

The Congress has no MLAs or MPs from Delhi.

Assembly elections in Delhi are slated to be held at the beginning of next year.