Have informed Rahul about fracas: ex-chief of Cong's Bihar

Former chief of Congress' Bihar unit Ashok Choudhary said today that he has informed party vice- president Rahul Gandhi about the incident in which members of rival factions reportedly came to blows at a meeting here.
Choudhary, who is the former Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief and believed to be close to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, claimed that he had been assured of an appointment with Gandhi at the earliest.
Infighting within the Bihar Congress came to the fore here yesterday when the members of rival factions reportedly came to blows at the meeting convened by the Pradesh Congress Committee.

The incident prompted the party leadership to order an inquiry into the fracas.
Choudhary defended himself, alleging that the fracas at the state party headquarters was "well-planned" by those who wanted to "capture the state unit through the backdoor."
"If the incident was not planned why was the media not allowed at the meeting venue?" he said.

Choudhary, who is an MLC, has maintained that he will remain in the Congress and "work in the interest of party workers".
He reiterated his allegation that C P Joshi, the party's general secretary in-charge of Bihar, had "hatched a conspiracy" to remove him from the PCC chief's post.

"C P Joshi is behind the current crisis in the state unit as he has been constantly conspiring to remove me for the past eight months. He wanted to install Akhilesh Prasad Singh to the post who has come from outside," Choudhary said.
Choudhary also criticised leaders of the party's state unit, including its acting president Kaukab Qadri, for the fracas.
He alleged that "those who have lost elections and have been instrumental in ensuring party's defeat in the past have controlled the party".
Asked about the committee formed to probe yesterday's incident, he questioned the very formation of the panel under a party leader "against whom ethics committee of the legislative council is carrying out a probe".

Choudhary has been accused by the rival faction of trying to split the Congress. It has been alleged that Choudhary and his supporters had stormed the state headquarters during the meeting and indulged in violence when they were asked not to raise slogans that went against the party line.
Singh, who was earlier with the RJD, had been a Union minister during the UPA regime. He is prominent among those members of the Congress which are believed to be closer to Lalu Prasad's RJD.