The leaders were reportedly upset over an Instagram post shared by Congress’s Chandigarh chief HS Lucky after Manish Tewari was declared the party candidate from the seat.
The post, purportedly forwarded by Lucky, said, “Pawan Bansal ke sath ho gaya khel… Manish Tewari Chandigarh se ummeedwar… Congress party ne ghoshit kiya naam… Congratulations, Congress party zindabad HS Lucky, Manoj Lubana bhai zindabad (Pawan Bansal tricked… Manish Tewari announced as Congress candidate from Chandigarh… Congratulations, long live the Congress, long live HS Lucky, Manoj Lubana).” It was accompanied by a picture of Tewari, Lucky and the party’s youth wing president Lubana.
“We have resigned from our posts because of how a former Union minister, who has contributed to building Chandigarh, was treated.
Protests had been brewing within the Congress since Manish Tewari was announced as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from Chandigarh.
Meanwhile, Manish Tewari reached Chandigarh on Sunday evening and went to the Congress Bhavan on Monday where he was greeted by party workers.
Over 38 leaders, including Chandigarh Mahila Congress president Deipa Dubey, resigned from the local unit of the party on Monday allegedly over the disrespect shown to former MP Pawan Bansal – who was expecting to be fielded from the constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The leaders were reportedly upset over an Instagram post shared by Congress’s Chandigarh chief HS Lucky after Manish Tewari was declared the party candidate from the seat.
The post, purportedly forwarded by Lucky, said, “Pawan Bansal ke sath ho gaya khel… Manish Tewari Chandigarh se ummeedwar… Congress party ne ghoshit kiya naam… Congratulations, Congress party zindabad HS Lucky, Manoj Lubana bhai zindabad (Pawan Bansal tricked… Manish Tewari announced as Congress candidate from Chandigarh… Congratulations, long live the Congress, long live HS Lucky, Manoj Lubana).” It was accompanied by a picture of Tewari, Lucky and the party’s youth wing president Lubana.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Lucky sought to clear the air. “I respect Bansal ji from the bottom of my heart… It is absolutely not true that I have no respect or honour for him. My Instagram handle is managed by others and they post stuff. I have not even read what has been posted,” he said.
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“We all are a family… It is just like shaadi mein fufad-bua naraaz hote hain…par sab maan jaate hain (It is like relatives who get upset at a wedding… but eventually they all get along),” he added.
The leaders who resigned include block presidents, district presidents and other prominent members. Dubey, meanwhile, said the resignations were due to the disrespect shown to Bansal. “We have resigned from our posts because of how a former Union minister, who has contributed to building Chandigarh, was treated. He is respected in the entire city but the Congress chief is forwarding posts like ‘khel ho gaya’… What kind of respect is this,” she asked.
Protests had been brewing within the Congress since Manish Tewari was announced as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from Chandigarh. Bansal had been trying for a ticket and sources said he had even started campaigning and was working on the manifesto.
Earlier, Bansal’s supporters were upset after Lucky said at the party’s poll panel meeting in Delhi that Chandigarh “required a new face” as Bansal was fielded in the last eight Lok Sabha elections, and lost the last two polls since 2014.
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The final trigger for Bansal’s supporters came on Monday when the post was forwarded from Lucky’s handle. “In any case, we won’t share the stage with Lucky,” Deipa said.
On Sunday, the Congress’s general secretary resigned stating that “outsiders are not accepted”.
Meanwhile, Manish Tewari reached Chandigarh on Sunday evening and went to the Congress Bhavan on Monday where he was greeted by party workers. He interacted with them and said the contribution of each will be invaluable ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
