New Delhi, November 10
After creating a stir by alleging “sale” of election tickets, Congress general secretary Margaret Alva today appeared before disciplinary cction committee chairman A.K. Antony even as the party snubbed the sulking leader by rejecting her charges.
As Alva met Antony, another party leader and former union minister Yogendra Makwana came out in her support, alleging that there was a “grain of truth” in her allegations and it should be probed.
Alva, who has been unhappy over denial of election ticket to her son Nivedith in Karnataka recently, was called by Antony, three days after her outburst.
During the meeting, Alva is believed to have told Antony the reasons behind her allegations, party sources said.
Alva created a stir last week by alleging that the election tickets had been “sold” and that “different yardsticks” were being adopted in deciding party nominations for upcoming elections in six states.
She had questioned why her son Nivedith and grandson of former union minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief were not given nominations while relatives of two dozen leaders were given tickets in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.
“Were my son and Jaffer Sharief’s grandson anti-national, terrorists or smugglers?” Alva had asked. The comments prompted the Congress to refer her case to the party’s disciplinary action committee.
Alva’s meeting with Antony came even as the party snubbed her by rejecting her charges and ruled out any probe into the allegations.
Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said “no wrong-doing” has happened in the distribution of tickets in the state.
“There is no truth in allegations about sale of tickets,” Natarajan told reporters here amid advocacy by some senior party leaders said that the outburst should be taken seriously.
Alva, who is in-charge of six states, did not come to the AICC
headquarters, leading to questions as to whether her responsibilities in the party have been snatched from her.
Antony is also likely to talk to AICC general secretary Prithviraj Chavan, who was seen as the prime target of Alva’s attack as he is in-charge of Karnataka.
As the party dealt with Alva, Makwana opened another front by suggesting that there were irregularities in distribution of tickets by the party. Makwana contended that there was some “truth” in the allegations levelled by Alva about “sale” of election tickets.
“There is a grain of truth in what Alva has said,” Makwana, who is said to be contemplating exit from the party, told reporters here.
The chairman of the AICC’s Scheduled Castes cell claimed that at least two cases involving wrong-doing had come to him.
“These allegations should be probed,” Makwana said. To a question, he said he was not afraid of disciplinary action against him. He was a Union Minister in the Indira Gandhi cabinet.
— PTI
