Amethi: An expelled Congress member and hissupporters staged a dharna during Rahul Gandhi's visit to Amethi this morning demanding the removal of party president Sonia Gandhi's representative KL Sharma.
Protesters, led by Rajesh Pandey, blocked the Munshiganj crossing when local MP and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was meeting people from his constituency at the Munshiganj guest house.
According to Congress sources, Pandey and his supporters tried to march into the guest house to meet Rahul and demand Sharma's removal, but the police chased them away.
Pandey alleged that Sharma has been indulging in wrong practices in the Congress president's Lok Sabha constituency, Rae Bareli, and has sought a CBI probe.
Read: In Amethi, Rahul Gandhi says Modi doing ‘politics of vendetta’
He claimed he had apprised Rahul of Sharma's actions several times but it was to no avail.
After his deeds surfaced in the media he (Sharma) conspired to get me expelled by framing fake charges, he alleged.
Pandey also alleged Sharma was interfering in his personal life.
Rahul, who arrived here last night, met Congress workers and locals at the Munshiganj guest house on Thursday.
Last night he had met Congress leaders and probable candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls due early next year.
Meanwhile, Sharma refuted the charges, saying Pandey has been doing this for long now out of personal enmity with him.
"He has written to Modi, Rajnath Singh and Governor claiming I have relations with mafias and I have black money and other such allegations. I said let the inquiry be instituted and things will become clear," he told PTI.
"I had got his (Pandey's) daughter admitted in a private medical college two years ago but he wanted her fees also to be waived, which the institute did not do. He is angry with me because I couldn't get her fee waived," Sharma said.
Pandey was expelled from the Congress after he continued posting objectionable content on social media against the party high command, he said.
"Let him demand anything... I have been with this (Gandhi) family for 33 years now. Had there been anything wrong on my part, I would have been removed already," he said.
