Shimla, August 19
Infighting within the parent Congress party in Himachal Pradesh has now percolated to its youth, student and labour wings.
These frontal organisations started witnessing rumblings soon after the Congress went out of power and the new PCC set up was nominated by the party high command.
The faction led by the PCC chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes, has started gunning for Mr Kewal Singh Pathania, president of the state unit of the National Students Union of India (NSUI). Another faction is demanding removal of Mr Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu from the post of president of the Youth Congress as it claims he has already crossed the upper age limit of 35 for continuing in the post.
The labour wing of the Congress (INTUC) is also witnessing a fierce fight between Mrs Kanta Sood and Mr Amarjeet Singh Bawa, for presidentship of the organisation. The recently held elections of INTUC were challenged in court.
The anger of the Stokes group against Mr Pathania is probably a fallout of the fact that Mrs Chandresh Kumari, MP, has now moved closer to the CLP leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh. Earlier, she was supporting the Stokes camp. With Mr Pathania considered a follower of Mrs Chandresh Kumari, the Stokes faction has now started seeking his removal from the post.
Since the faction started criticising Mr Pathania on the eve of the crucial elections to the Students Central Association (SCA) in the university and its affiliated colleges recently held in the state. This had a demoralising effect on the activists of the NSUI.
Although the NSUI managed to grab a couple of seats, those considered close to Mrs Stoke remained vocal in demanding the removal of Mr Pathania.
Mr Sukhwinder Singh, chief of the state Youth Congress, is facing problems as supporters of the group led by Mr Virbhadra Singh are learnt to have raised the issue of his being overaged because of which he is not eligible to hold the post any longer.
They are learnt to have furnished a copy of the matric examination of the Himachal Education Board to the Congress high command to prove their claim. They also point out that Mrs Sonia Gandhi while addressing a rally of the Youth Congress at Delhi recently, had said that all those office-bearers who had crossed the age of 35 should voluntarily resign.
The fighting in INTUC has reached the court with the two factions trying to grab the post of President of the body. While Mrs Sood is considered a supporter of the Stokes camp, Mr Bawa is believed to be a staunch man of Mr Virbhadra Singh.
Groupism in the parent organisation has been growing day by day with Mrs Stokes and Mr Virbhadra Singh holding parallel rallies in the state.
