NEW DELHI: In a major blow to Congress ahead of the Haryana Assembly polls, former state unit president Ashok Tanwar tendered his resignation from the primary membership on Saturday. Tanwar had hit out at the party high command, claiming that tickets for the Assembly polls were being sold. He posted a resignation letter, addressed to party president Sonia Gandhi, on Twitter. It said, “Congress is going through an existential crisis, not because of its political opponents but because of serious internal contradictions. I, after several months of consideration, tender my resignation from the primary membership of the Congress party, which I nurtured with my sweat and blood. My fight is not personal but against the system which is destroying the grand old party.”
“...hard working Congress workers from non-political families were no longer valued in the party. Blackmail and pressure tactics seemed to work in the end. Congress has drifted from its basic principle and ideology. Now, Congress is the antithesis of democracy, plagued by feudal attitudes and medieval conspiracies,” the letter read.
Tanwar claimed conspiracies were being hatched to remove young leaders groomed by former national president Rahul Gandhi. He claimed the grassroots workers and their sentiments were neglected by the party’s top mandarins. He said the reasons for his decision to quit are well known to all party members, adding he took the call after long deliberations with party workers. “Ticket distribution did not conform to traditional practice and party norms. The party should spell out the criterion for allocation of tickets,” he said.
Raising the banner of revolt against the Congress leadership, Tanwar held a sit-in protest outside Sonia’s 10 Janpath residence on Wednesday. He had been sulking since being removed as the Haryana Congress chief.
Swaraj India promises 20 L jobs in Haryana
Swaraj India on Saturday released its manifesto — ‘Iman Patra’ — for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections. It promised to create employment opportunities in the state at a proposed additional expenditure of `20,000 crores every year and give jobs to 20 lakh people in the state. Party chief Yogendra Yadav said that his party will be introducing seven missions to address the problem of unemployment in the state. The party also promised to work on several sectors, if elected to power.