Split in Delhi Congress? Chacko overturns Sheila Dixit’s decision to dissolve committees
New Delhi, June 30: A day after Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit dissolved all 280 block-level committees of the party, AICC in-charge of the national capital PC Chacko overturned the decision, a move that hinted differences between the two leaders.
Chacko, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Delhi unit, "stayed" dissolution of block committees and forwarded copies of his order to Congress president Rahul Gandhi as well as Dikshit, party sources said.
Delhi Congress leaders, including Dikshit and Chacko met Gandhi on Friday, who advised them to work unitedly in the wake of Assembly polls in Delhi scheduled to be held early next year.
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However, Dikshit taking cognizance of a report by a committee formed by her to probe party's debacle in recent Lok Sabha polls, dissolved all the block committees hours after meeting Gandhi.
A group of Congress leaders on Saturday met Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and Chacko and protested the move to dissolve the block committees.
"We told the two leaders that the block committees and their presidents were elected and they can not be dissolved all of a sudden before Assembly elections since it takes a lot of time to form them," said Chatar Singh, who was in the meeting.
The Delhi unit of Congress has apparently failed to recover from differences among its leaders, with the "anti-Dikshit group" claiming that the block committees were dissolved "unilaterally" by her without consulting Chacko.
The block committees were elected last year when Ajay Maken headed the Delhi Congress.
"The decision to disband the block committees formed under presidentship of Maken is an attempt by Dikshit to stamp her authority by reconstituting them under her leadership," said a senior Delhi Congress leader.
The process for constitution of new committees has already begun in view of the Assembly elections in Delhi scheduled early next year, said a leader of Dikshit camp.
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The differences in the party had surfaced during Lok Sabha polls, when PC Chacko and Maken batted for an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) to defeat the BJP.
Dikshit
and
her
followers
in
the
party
strongly
resisted
the
alliance
which
finally
failed
to
materialise.
Congress
lost
all
seven
Lok
Sabha
seats
in
Delhi
at
the
hands
of
the
BJP
with
huge
margins.