Cong workers protest Praniti Shinde's non-inclusion in Cabinet

Youth Congress workers staged a sit-in outside the party office in Solapur on Thursday to protest against the non-inclusion of party MLA Praniti Shinde in the Maharashtra Cabinet.

The MLA, daughter of former Union minister and Congress veteran Sushilkumar Shinde, represents Solapur City Central Assembly constituency.

The party workers sat on a sit-in protest outside the 'Congress Bhavan' in Solapur, located about 250 km from here, over her non-inclusion in the state Cabinet led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Nearly 100 Congress workers, including those from Solapur city unit's youth wing and the National Student Union of India (NSUI), also tendered their resignations in the last couple of days as a mark of protest, a party functionary said.

Protesting outside the 'Congress Bhavan' in Solapur on Thursday, the Youth Congress workers sought inclusion of Praniti Shinde into the state Cabinet.

"We demand that Praniti tai be inducted into the Cabinet as soon as possible. To press for our demand, we staged a sit-in protest today," Congress corporator and party's state youth wing secretary Vinod Bhosale said.

Despite the MLA's capability, she has been denied a ministerial berth, he said.

"We are not protesting against the Congress, but against some senior leaders in the party, because of whom Praniti tai could not become a minister," Bhosale said.

"Nearly 100 workers of the Solapur city Youth Congress unit and NSUI have also tendered their resignations to protest denial of Cabinet berth to Shinde," he said.

Bhosale said the senior party leadership should explain why she was not inducted into the Cabinet.

Solapur (city) Youth Congress head Ambadas Kargule said the protest held on Thursday was "peaceful", and warned that effigies of senior leadership would be burnt in future if Shinde is not given a place in the state council of ministers.

On Tuesday, Solapur district Youth Congress head Nitin Nagne wrote a letter in blood to party president Sonia Gandhi, claiming that Praniti Shinde and her father had worked hard for the party and always remained loyal to the leadership.

The Congress office in Pune was also vandalised on Tuesday by alleged supporters of party MLA Sangram Thopte against his non-inclusion in the Maharashtra ministry.