Under-fire Kamal Nath writes to Sonia, resigns as AICC General Secretary

Under fire after being appointed as the party in charge of Punjab affairs, Congress leader Kamal Nath on Wednesday wrote to party president Sonia Gandhi requesting to be relieved from his duties, so that the attention of the party is not diverted from the real issues such as the 'rampant drug trade' in the state.

"Certain elements are raking up these issues now only for political gains. I am touched by the support shown by our party workers and leaders in Punjab in repudiating the false accusations. I am a practitioner of Nehruvian politics and maligning of the Congress party using false accusations is unacceptable to me," Nath said in the letter.

Hoping that the party focuses on the upcoming elections rather than the furore over his appointment, he added that the Congress must highlight the issues of mis-governance, misery of farmers and youth, break down of law and order and rampant drug trade that caused misery to the people of Punjab.

"Given this, I request that I may be relieved of my charge to ensure that the attention is not diverted from the real issues facing Punjab," Nath said.

The Congress leader came under fire after being appointed as the party in charge of Punjab affairs over his alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Rebuffing all charges, Nath told ANI, "The BJP and the SAD did not level any allegation against me in the past 32 years and the Aam Aadmi Party, which was not even born then, is levelling accusations."

The AAP and the BJP had accused the Congress of not being bothered about the state and only caring about people having money and muscle power.

AAP leader and senior lawmaker H.S. Phoolka said Nath was the one leader, who was leading a mob at Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib on November 1, 1984 and the mob had set the gurduwara on fire.

The Congress Party last week, made important changes in its leadership in three states, including Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, where the polls are due to be held next year.