Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit’s statement about the UPA policies being responsible for the Congress debacles in recent polls seemed to have given a voice to Congressmen in Uttar Pradesh too.
Congress leaders in UP are now voicing their resentment at the UPA policies which, according to them, are spelling doom for the Congress.
“We have been constantly blamed for the UP debacle and the central leaders insist that a weak party organisation was responsible for the defeat in Assembly polls. Does this mean that the party organisation was also weak in Delhi where the Congress received a drubbing?” asks a party vice-president.
A veteran Congress leader who faced defeat in the recent Assembly polls says that it is actually the policies and posture of the UPA government that are to be blamed for Congress defeat.
“The government, and not the party, is to be blamed for the defeat. Let them increase petrol prices once again and the results will be there for all to see in states where Assembly polls are due next. The common man is not a fool and knows exactly who is responsible for inflation. If things are not reversed, we can look towards a complete washout in 2014,” he said.
A group of senior party leaders have prepared a letter marked “Urgent and Personal” to the Congress president, detailing the policies of the UPA that have damaged the Congress in recent months.
Party leaders will be sending the letter this weekend to the Congress president and a copy will be endorsed to Mr Rahul Gandhi.
The group of leaders said that they will wait for a response and some action till May 15 after which they will convene a meeting in Lucknow and openly air their discontent.
“We have mentioned the scams of the UPA and also the statements of UPA ministers that have tarnished the image of the Congress and also nullified the efforts of the Congress leadership in UP. The UPA budget has no relief for the common man and the relief in IT structure is negligible. The tardy pace of work on the railway coach factory in Rae Bareli has added to discontent in the constituency which was among one of the factors responsible for the rout of Congress there,” the party leader said.