Barkha Shukla Singh resigns as Delhi Mahila Congress chief, says Rahul Gandhi mentally unfit to lead party

Barkha Shukla Singh accused Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi of "hiding" from the party workers.

New Delhi: In another jolt to Delhi Congress ahead of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Elections, its women's wing chief Barkha Shukla Singh on Thursday resigned from the post.

She also hit out at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and the party`s Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken.

The former Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief said: "Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Ajay Maken have only used the issue of empowerment of women and women security to gather votes."

"The issue means nothing to them."

Talking to a news agency, Singh said "On the day of Navratra on March 28, I, along with a number of other fasting women workers of the party, tried to meet Rahul Gandhi. The women party workers, who had assembled there from various parts of Delhi, were the ones who failed to get tickets despite working for Congress for many years. After waiting for four hours, a peon came up to us and said that those sitting inside said they didn't care about Navratra and asked us to go home.”

She, however, added that she did not know if the message was conveyed by Rahul Gandhi or someone else.

The Congress worker added that on the same day, Rahul Gandhi was seen partying at Shangri-La Hotel. She even showed pictures of the same.

Singh said: "In the current organisation where I myself am unsafe, how will I empower women in that organisation. That is why I hereby resign from the post of President of Delhi Mahila Congress."

Singh even quoted other senior party leaders questioning her party`s vice president`s capabilities, saying "Rahul Gandhi is unfit to lead the party".

"The one pertinent question we need to ask today is why is Rahul Gandhi in hiding? Why is he scared of meeting his own party members?" Singh said in a statement.

Several senior leaders have quit the party because of that very reason, she said.

"Rahul Gandhi is reluctant to address issues that exist within the organisation. Why does Rahul Gandhi shy away from meeting party leaders who ask him questions," she said.

She further added: "He (Rahul) is only interested in meeting sycophants and not leaders who reason, question and ask."

Targetting Maken, Singh said the senior Congress leader "misbehaved" with her and other office bearers of the Delhi Women's Congress. "When the same was brought to the notice of Rahul Gandhi, our pleas fell on deaf ears," she claimed.

The former DCW chief added: “It is sheer hypocrisy that when (BJP leader) Vinay Katiyar makes absurd remarks about Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi's office expects us to protest against the same. But when we complain of Ajay Maken abusing and threatening us, we are told to take the matter with Maken himself.”

Describing herself as a loyal soldier of the Congress, she said she will continue to remain that. 

Here is the press statement tweeted by Singh:

Press Statement pic.twitter.com/qKOh9TnGN6 — Barkha Shukla Singh (@barkhasingh45) April 20, 2017

She further wrote:

Will always remain a @INCIndia worker. Saddening to see party in such a state. Party does not belong to one person it belongs to its workers — Barkha Shukla Singh (@barkhasingh45) April 20, 2017

In a setback to the Congress ahead of the April 23 MCD polls, former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and former Youth Congress leader Amit Malik quit the party and joined the BJP on Tuesday.