BHUBANESWAR: Putting up a bold face on growing dissidence, Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan on Thursday said the party is united.
After a meeting with the 12 dissident MLAs, who met the Congress high command last week, Harichandan said at a Press conference here that the intra-party squabble is nothing but a media creation. “There will be differences of opinion in a democratic party. This should not be construed as discord within the party,” the PCC chief said.
Claiming that the Congress leaders are united, Harichandan said the party will continue to fight misgovernance of the ruling BJD in the State. All the MLAs of the party, except two, were present at the Press conference.
Describing media reports on friction within the party as fabricated, baseless and misleading, Harichandan said State’s Congress leaders meeting party high command is nothing unusual. “We meet AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi to discuss organisational matters. The 12 MLAs had gone to Delhi to invite Rahul Gandhi to the State. What is wrong in it?” he questioned.
Harichandan further said that the party leader had given a proposal to Rahul Gandhi on the party organisation in the State. Rahul asked them to discuss it with the State leadership. “I had a discussion with my party colleagues in this regard at the meeting today,” he said.
Harichandan, however, parried a question on whether the MLAs had informed him or Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra about their meeting with the party high command.
He admitted that the confusion was created by irresponsible statements made by some party leaders, which he had disapproved of.
After the meeting at Congress Bhawan, the PCC chief and the MLAs went to the house of the Leader of Opposition. However, none of them was willing to talk about what transpired at the meeting with Mishra.
Harichandan said a meeting of the legislature party was scheduled on Thursday, but it had to be cancelled due to the funeral of former President APJ Abdul Kalam.