HARESH JHALA
Ahmedabad, Aug 7 (IANS) The Congress party seems to be waking up from a long sleep after successive setbacks. With senior leaders facing allegations that only their blue eyed boys get posts or tickets, whether they work for the party or not, the party’s state leadership has started relieving leaders of their posts for failing to take the party’s agenda forward.
Recently, 30 taluka committee presidents were sacked from their posts because their report cards were negative, either for personal or social reasons or non-interest. These leaders had either not formed taluka committees, were not regularly calling party meetings, organising programmes given by the party at the local level, failing to register Janmitra membership drive or raising people’s issues, said Manish Doshi, chief spokesperson of the party.
Doshi stated, “Not only taluka leaders, four district level office-bearers, and 10 to 15 state level office-bearers’ performance was reviewed and they were warned to either improve their performance or get ready to leave the post.”
Such action will bring opportunities for hard workers and they will toil for the party’s performance to improve, hopes Amit Nayak, leader from Ahmedabad.
Now district level leaders have started taking action against non-performing office-bearers with the Lunavada taluka committee president being replaced, said Suresh Patel, president of the Mahisagar district Congress committee.
Patel believes if such action continues, workers and leaders will be charged to work.
However, all leaders were not open to discuss the issue. Valsad district Congress committee president Dinesh Patel disconnected the phone when contacted while a few sought time ‘to gather information’.
A district level leader wishing anonymity said, “the action being taken is superficial, there is nothing like accountability in the party. The fact is if a performance report is sought of the state office bearers, half of them are not visiting the districts of which they are in-charge, they should first be relieved from their responsibilities. Many of them are not participating in party programmes at the state or district level, but no one is questioning them.”
This leader also questioned why former state presidents and national leaders from Gujarat are not taking the responsibility for at least a few seats to ensure the party’s victory in the assembly elections? No one is questioning the party’s so-called big bosses. If charity begins at home, why not question the senior leaders, he asks.
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