PUDUCHERRY: Congress is carrying out a reality-check with AICC general secretary (in- charge of party affairs of Puducherry) Mukul Wasnik engaging in a ‘one-to-one’ meeting the local functionaries, office-bearers of the party at its office here on Sunday.
Wasnik was insisting on holding the party meeting without the top leaders, so that he could get the feel of the ‘pulse’ at the grassroot-level.
In an effort to ensure this, he politely asked the top leaders of the Pradesh Congress Committee to vacate the meeting place and the leaders, including former Union Minister V Narayanasamy, Leader of the Opposition V Vaithilingam and MLA and PCC chief A V Subramanian obliged.
The meeting was conducted in the wake of serious charges made by veteran leader and Rajya Sabha member P Kannan, who had said the “base of Congress has eroded in Puducherry”. This remark was countered by Narayanasamy, who had said, “Those who say this are day-dreaming”.
The meeting was also held in the background of Yanam MLA Malladi Krishna Rao toying with an idea of switching over his allegiance to the ruling party.
Wasnik’s visit would give an opportunity to the party managers and the high command in Delhi to assess the situation ahead of the Assembly elections in 2016, rather than going by the versions given by the established leaders of the party.
One of the leaders of the party’s Schedule Caste Wing Veeramuthu, who had a one-to-one meeting with Wasnik, told Express on Sunday night that during the exchange, he had put forth his idea of strengthening of the party at all levels.
On whether he had raised any complaint about the functioning of top leaders, Veeramuthu was tightlipped. However, it is believed that many of the functionaries have demanded action against Kannan.
Mukul Wasnik would speak with the local functionaries and then turn to the top leaders to hear them later today, party sources said.
The Congress party’s morale had been hit with its candidate V Narayanasamy’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections by AINRC’s Radhakrishnan.
Though the top party leaders, including Pradesh Congress Committee chief A V Subramanian, tendered their resignations, they were not accepted.
With the aim of boosting the morale of the workers, the party, of late, has been resorting to agitations, alleging corruption in the free rice issue.