A slight commotion reigned midway through the first day of the two-day 83rd plenary session of the Congress here on Sunday as some party activists physically accosted AICC general secretary in charge of Bihar Mukul Wasnik, blaming him for the poor party electoral results in the recently held state Assembly polls.
The delegates from Bihar were seen shouting from their places in the third enclosure from the dais that “Wasnik chor hai (Wasnik is thief)” and “Wasnik ne ticket becha hai (Wasnik has sold tickets). Mr Wasnik, however, on his part, denied that the party had made a mistake by going it alone in Bihar. “It was a new beginning. Nobody was thinking that we would make way easily. I don’t believe that we committed a mistake by going alone. We wanted to create our own space in Bihar... the path may be longer,” Mr Wasnik, who was visibly upset with the turn of event, claimed.
Some of the party’s leaders were heard blaming the Congress no-show on its shortcut strategy of “importing winnable candidates” in the hope of a hung Assembly. They still feel that the party should have set rolling a genuine process to revive the organisational muscle with the future in mind.
With the annihilation in the Assembly polls, a fresh round of desertions and infighting, it is expected to be difficult for the party to attract the interest of “genuine” workers.
The event turned ugly when Gujarat Congress Legislature Party leader Shaktisinh Gohil was speaking and the sound system suddenly became dysfunctional. This gave the opportunity to the Bihar leaders to create commotion.
At that time, both Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rahul Gandhi were not present on the dais.
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Resolution hails Sonia leadership
Nitin Mahajan
New Delhi
Dec. 19: The Congress resolution marking the party’s 125 years hailed the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi and also recognised the fact that she had led the party through a “difficult period”. The resolution went on to state that she accepted the challenge of rebuilding and reinvigorating the Congress, preparing it to counter the rise of communal forces. “Her leadership enthused the rank and file of the party and galvanised it to regain the confidence of the people,” it added.
The resolution also recalled the contributions of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi in strengthening the party.
Presenting the resolution before the session, defence minister A.K. Antony said the Congress has always represented the spirit of India and its unique moral universe and said the party will strive to enthuse young men and women to embrace its ideology.
He stated the plenary session was a historic landmark in the journey of the oldest democratic movements in the world.
“It is an inspirational moment not only for millions of Congress men and women but for all those across the world who believe in human dignity and freedom,” he added.