State Congress legal department grapples with factional feud
Hisar, July 6
Factionalism has cast its shadow on the legal department of the Congress in Haryana. The department, a wing of the Congress, has two chairpersons — Lal Bahadur Khowal and KC Bhatia — and the supporters of both claim legitimacy, citing their affiliation to the All India Congress Committee and the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee.
According to the party sources, the tangle in the legal wing stemmed from the same old problem of ‘groupism’ in the state unit of the party. Sources say, while one faction owes its allegiance to state party president Udai Bhan, the other’s loyalties lie with Sirsa MP Kumari Selja, who claimed to have got appointed by the All India Congress Committee’s Legal Department about four years ago.
Lal Bahadur Khowal, a Hisar-based advocate, was appointed the chairman of the Haryana wing by Vivek Tankha, chairperson of the AICC’s legal department on April 2, 2020 on the recommendation of the then Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja. Khowal released his appointment letter and claimed that the AICC’s legal department had made it clear that he continued to be the president of the department.
On the other hand, incumbent state Congress chief Udai Bhan recently appointed KC Bhatia as the chairperson of the legal department. Bhatia also further expanded the wing and designated 31 office-bearers, besides appointing district presidents in 16 district units of the department.
On June 29, Bhatia also designated a Hisar-based advocate and Congress activist Anil Kumar Jalandhra as the state coordinator for the department. Sources say the leaders of both factions have been pitching for their respective loyalists to ensure they remain in power.
