M A I N   N E W S

Sonia throws up face-saver
Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 2
The AICC President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, has come out with a formula which will save the face of warring groups of the Haryana Congress over the March 4 rally to be held by the Bhajan Lal faction in Bhiwani.

The party chief propounded the formula after the Haryana Congress President, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, met her this morning. According to sources, the AICC General Secretary, Mrs Mohsina Kidwai, who is in charge of the party affairs in Haryana, had convened a meeting of senior state party leaders last night. No compromise could be reached to settle the contradictory claims of the Bhajan Lal faction and the Hooda group.

The Bhajan Lal group, the sources say, was adamant on organising the Bhiwani rally. It argued that it had gone ahead with the preparations for the rally and now it would be very difficult for it to backtrack without risking widespread demoralisation among the party cadre and leaders, who were already facing persecution at the hands of the Chautala government.

The Hooda group, on the other hand, the sources say, was of the view that in the light of a letter written by the former AICC General Secretary, Mr Moti Lal Vora, who is now the treasurer of the party, to the Haryana Congress, no individual leader could be allowed to organise any rally or public meeting without the permission of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC). The sources say, Mr Hooda put his view point before Mrs Gandhi this morning.

Mrs Gandhi is believed to have told Mr Hooda that the rally would be held under the banner of the PCC and he (Mr Hooda) as the President of the state Congress would preside over it. She is also believed to have directed Mrs Kidwai accordingly. However, Mrs Kidwai could not be contacted for comments.

It is not known if Mr Bhajan Lal, who had gone ahead with the preparations for the rally unmindful of the reaction of the party high command, has formally written to the PCC seeking its permission to hold the rally. Of course, Mr Bhajan Lal has written identical letters to all senior Haryana Congress leaders, including Mr Hooda.

It may be recalled that shortly after Mr Vora had written to the PCCs of Punjab and Haryana to inform the leaders not to hold any rally without the permission of the concerned state unit, he had told TNS that the rally was a party programme in which he along with Mr Hooda would participate. A few days after that Mr Vora was shifted as the treasurer and the charge of the Haryana Congress was given to Mrs Kidwai, who preferred to remain silent on the controversial issue of the rally. However, Mrs Gandhi has virtually dittoed Mr Vora.

The decision of Mrs Gandhi has come at a stage when it had become clear that the rally would be held under all circumstances. A number of senior leaders like Mr Chiranji Lal Sharma and Mr Ranjit Singh, a son of the former Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Devi Lal, who were earlier with the Hooda group, had crossed over to the Bhajan Lal camp.

The latest entrant to the Bhajan Lal camp is Mr Sharma, a veteran Brahmin leader in the party. The sources say, the former Chief Minister called on Mr Sharma at his Delhi residence on February 28 and persuaded him to participate in the rally.

Observers feel that even if the rally is now held under the banner of the PCC, in popular perception it will remain a Bhajan Lal show.