AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Friday pulled up senior Congress leaders of Chhattisgarh for indulging in infighting, saying, “The party will not come to power in the state in the coming 10 years if they do not sink their differences soon.”
“The Congress lost the 2008 Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh to the BJP owing to its own weaknesses, lack of unity and coordination among leaders and workers. The party will sit in Opposition in the next polls again and may even not come to power in the state in the coming 10 years if the leaders continue to indulge in bickering,” he said while addressing the valedictory session of the party’s three-day state-level training programmes here.
Mr Gandhi, who arrived here in the morning by air on a day-long visit to the state, also addressed state-level conventions of the National Students Union of India and the Youth Congress.
He also addressed the elected representatives of panchayat raj institutions.
and held deliberations with senior leaders of the party, including MPs, MLAs and PCC office-bearers, before leaving for Delhi in the evening.
The media was barred from covering any of the events.
He also expressed displeasure over marginalisation of students and the Youth Congress by the PCC leadership and said there should be coordination between the PCC and NSUI and Youth Congress to make the party more effective in the state. “Responsibility of bringing the party back to power in the state lies with the NSUI and Youth Congress. Hence, the PCC leadership should give due weight to these two organisations,” he said.
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CM: c’garh, like others, will reject rahul
age correspondent
Raipur, May 18
Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh on Friday said AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi would not be able to revive the fortunes of the Congress in the state. “People in the country have rejected Rahul Gandhi. This is evident from the dismal performance of the Congress in the recent Assembly elections to three states, particularly Uttar Pradesh, where he had led the poll campaign for his party,” the chief minister remarked while reacting to Mr Gandhi’s whirlwind tour to Chhattisgarh on Friday.
“Like UP, Chhattisgarh will also not accept Rahul Gandhi,” he added. He said the Congress should stop dreaming of returning to power in Chhattisgarh.
He slammed Mr Gandhi for repeatedly “taking credit” for funds being provided by the Centre to the states for implementation of anti-poverty schemes. “It is not the Centre’s or the state’s money. It is the people’s money and the credit should go to Chhattisgarh,” he said.