HYDERABAD: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's apparent "failure" to initiate disciplinary action against dissident functionaries in Haryana and Rajasthan has started raising eyebrows.
Regardless of the newly appointed party presidents' huffing and puffing over "cracking the whip," the organisation has not been able to take any action against three MLAs in Rajasthan who were served notices for not attending the CLP meet. Also no action was taken against Haryana MLA Kiran Chaudhary for allegedly cross voting during the Rajya Sabha election in June last year leading to the defeat of party candidate Ajay Maken.
Maken had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court in June challenging Kartikeya Sharma's victory and directly named senior party leader Kiran Choudhary for purposely making a tick against writing 1 in the box against his name. “We had seen the ballot number on which the tick mark was made and checked its serial number, and therefore, there was no doubt that the rejected vote was that of Kiran Choudhary," Maken said. But clearly no tangible action has been taken by the party in this regard since June last year.
No action has been taken on the show cause notices given to State Minister Shanti Dhariwal, chief whip Mahesh Joshi and RTDC chief Dharmendra Rathore. Several leaders from the state wanted that a closure to the leadership issue is dealt with but till now even under a new national president there is no clarity on the state. Interestingly, the then general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Ajay Maine resigned from his post of Rajasthan in-charge for the party lamenting against inaction. The three MLAs who are also office bearers in the Rajasthan government were accused of revolt and instigating fellow MLAs to resign and not attend the legislature party meeting called by the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in September last year for leadership change.
First they waited for the elections of the Congress president in October last year then they waited for the elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Then they waited for the Bharat Jodo Yatra to leave the state. Yet a final decision evades both the states.
