The Hindu : Cong. infighting comes to the fore at rally

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Monday, Jun 09, 2003

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Cong. infighting comes to the fore at rally

By Rajesh Ahuja

CHANDIGARH JUNE 8. The infighting in the Haryana unit of the Congress got further accentuated at the Kaithal rally organized by those party leaders who do not see eye to eye with the former Chief Minister and Haryana unit President, Bhajan Lal, as supporters of one prominent leader,Birender Singh, and the Leader of the Opposition, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, shouted slogans against each other in the presence of the AICC Working Committee member, K.Natwar Singh.

Interestingly, Mr.Bhajan Lal did not take `cognizance' of the rally and did not participate in it. It was being felt in political circles that partymen who are known for their stand against Mr.Bhajan Lal's "policies'' would openly express themselves at the rally which had been convened jointly by Mr.Hooda, the former HPCC chief, Birender Singh, and sitting MLA,Inderjeet Singh. It was being branded as an historic rally to `expose' those leaders, irrespective of party affiliations, who had done nothing to get the Satluj Yamuna Link Canal imbroglio resolved during their respective tenures and who were generally considered inimical to the emotive issue of equitable distribution of water. The names of the Devi Lal clan, including the Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, and the two former Chief Ministers, Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal, were being openly mentioned in this connection.

However, things took an ugly turn when supporters of Mr.Birender Singh, a member of the Congress Election Committee, tried to outdo each other in projecting their leader as the next Chief Minister and openly asserting that the credit for organising the rally went to Mr.Birender Singh. According to highly-placed sources, this was not liked by supporters of Mr.Hooda who were present there in large numbers and they too raised slogans eulogising their leader. Political observers feel that this incident, initially triggered of by supporters of Mr.Birender Singh, marred the entire spirit of the rally and cast doubts over the "unity'' among those leaders who are opposed to Bhajan Lal's leadership.

The sitting MLA, Raghubir Singh Kadian, openly reacted to the large posters and pull-outs of Mr.Birender Singh by asserting that "these'' would not matter in deciding the next Chief Minister if the Congress comes to power. Not only this, the dent of the attack against the Om Prakash Chautala regime was somewhat marginalised, they added.

It is being felt in Congress circles that the rally should not have been used to project any one leader as the next Chief Minister as Mr.Hooda rightly reacted by saying that this issue would be decided by the AICC supremo, Sonia Gandhi, when the Congress would regain power in the State. The whole focus of the rally had been blurred and the future course of action on the SYL Canal imbroglio had been relegated to the backburner. Insiders told this correspondent that Mr.Birender Singh, who had lost the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections recently, had hardly been playing an active role in Haryana politics and had been often shifting loyalties. On the other hand, Mr.Hooda, they claimed, had revived the party in the State after the traumatic rout of the Congress in the 1996 polls and he had led the Congress in the 2000 State Assembly polls. Even then he had not projected himself as the Chief Ministerial candidate either at the Jhajjar or Kaithal rallies, they added.

Mr.Birender Singh described Mr.Hooda as his younger brother and denied any "differences'' over the leadership issue. He asserted that the rally was a joint effort and not the "show'' of any one faction. To set the record straight, he also mentioned that an invitation had been sent to Mr.Bhajan Lal.

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Cong. infighting comes to the fore at rally