Pressure from Hooda Camp over appointments amid Haryana Congress reshuffle

 

New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): All do not seem to be well in the Haryana Congress over appointments in the organizational setup in the party's state unit.

As per the sources, to continue its stronghold in the state unit, the camp of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is putting pressure on the Congress high command ahead of appointments from district to state level of the party.

More than 20 MLAs from the Hooda camp have come up to say that Bhupinder Singh Hooda must be taken into consideration before making any decision.

A senior leader from Haryana Congress on the condition of anonymity said, "It is a pressure tactic from the Hooda camp to get the maximum share in the appointment from its side."

On Monday, a 5-member group of Congress MLAs met party General Secretary organization KC Venugopal in the national capital.

"We are happy with the response of KC Venugopal. And we have put up our demand that Bhupinder Singh Hooda must be consulted for decisions of appointments. MLAs also must be heard before appointments," Congress MLA Kuldeep Vats told ANI after meeting Venugopal.

Asked about changing of state president, another Haryana Congress MLA BB Batra said that the decision in this regard can only be the call of party high command.

Ahead of the reshuffle in Haryana Congress and meeting with Venugopal, 22 party MLAs from the state met Bhupinder Singh Hooda, his son, and MP Deepender Singh Hooda at their residence.

Meetings will continue on Tuesday also, sources said.

After a gap of almost six years, Haryana Congress has started an organisational reshuffle in the state. The party had dismantled district Congress committees in the state in 2015 and now it has decided to organise them. However, this step seems to have caused infighting in Haryana Congress as a few days back a group of 19 party MLAs from Hooda camp met AICC in charge of the state, Vivek Bansal.

According to the sources, the MLAs conveyed to Bansal that leadership in the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) should be changed. Besides, MLAs alleged that they were ignored by the organisation as well as by HPCC chief Kumari Selja in taking key decisions and that there was a delay in the expansion of the party in the state. Following this, PCC chief Selja had also met Venugopal on Friday.

According to sources, Selja has submitted a list of District Congress President to the General Secretary Organisation but that has been put up on hold till the MLAs are heard.

The whole exercise has once again highlighted the infighting of the state leaders.