Congress Leader Bhupinder Hooda Slammed For Meeting Ghulam Nabi Azad

Bupinder Singh Hooda is among the G-23 leaders who had sought elections at all levels.

Chandigarh:

Raising strong concerns over former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda meeting Ghulam Nabi Azad, who quit the party blaming its leadership, senior Congress leader Kumari Selja has said the move confuses and disheartens the party rank and file.

Ms Selja, a Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former president of the party’s Haryana unit, is learnt to have lodged a complaint against Mr Hooda, also the Leader of Opposition in the state, with the party high command and also demanded a show cause notice against him.

Apart from Mr Hooda, two other members of the G-23 Anand Sharma and Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday met Mr Azad at his Delhi residence, days after the leader from Jammu and Kashmir resigned from the party, blaming its leadership.

Ms Selja has raised the matter with some senior party leaders, including All India Congress Committee Haryana in-charge Vivek Bansal.

When asked for a comment, Ms Selja told PTI over the phone on Thursday, “I have said that Mr Hooda going there and meeting Mr Azad when he has left the party, blamed the leadership and even made personal comments against our leaders, disheartens the party rank and file and also confuses them.”

“He (Azad) has chosen a path and left the party. But once the die is cast, the person has left the party and has already announced floating his own party, what is the point of him (Hooda’s) going to his (Azad’s) house,” she sought to know.

Ms Selja is also learnt to have told the party high command that such a development was not acceptable even though the former Haryana chief minister had been given a free hand in running the affairs of the Congress’ state unit.

Mr Hooda is among the G-23 leaders who had in a letter to the Congress president in August 2020 sought an organisational overhaul and elections at all levels.

He, along with Mr Sharma and Mr Chavan are learnt to have held discussions with Mr Azad regarding the G-23’s future strategy.

The Congress had in April revamped its Haryana unit, appointing former legislator and Mr Hooda loyalist Udai Bhan as its president, replacing Ms Selja, who was later made a CWC member.

As part of the reorganisation, the party had also appointed four working presidents.

Mr Hooda’s son Deepender Singh Hooda is a Rajya Sabha MP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)