A day after stepping down as Tamil Nadu Congress president, BS Gnanadesikan, today has charged the party high command of not consulting the state leadership on party affairs besides charging the senior Congress leader and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram of “playing a solo music” in the party.
Speaking to reporters at the party state headquarters here today, Gnanadesikan said the party’s high command doesn’t consult the state unit on any party-related matters, and expressed his displeasure over the top brass on removing the pictures of late party leaders K Kamaraj and GK Moopanar from the party membership-cards.
“Only when a party is strong at the state level, it would be able to grow at the national level,” said Gnanadesikan, who added state leaders need to be empowered to improve the party's base. Gnanadesikan claims to have tried to bring unity among the leaders in the state, but many of the office bearers had not attended the party meetings and do not visit the party's headquarters.
He said the former finance minister Chidambaram was playing a “solo music in the party” and alleged, “he (Chidambaram) had not visited the party office for the last three months and has held some meetings on his own”.
According to him, when there was a leader for the party’s state unit, it was not wise to talk about a new leader.
Senior Congress leader and former Union shipping minister GK Vasan today came in support of Gnanadesikan and his views on the party’s leadership. “He (Gnanadesikan) echoed the views of Congress cadre in the state,” said Vasan.
The comment comes at time when Vasan, along with his supporters, are planning to float a new party after partying away from the Congress.
Vasan’s father, GK Moopanar, in 1996 had floated the Tamil Maanila Congress TMC (M) after breaking away from the Indian National Congress. After the demise of Moopanar, under the new leadership of his son Vasan, the TMC merged with the INC.
