Group of Cong leaders meet Rahul Gandhi

Alleging that a `selected few` presented `distorted` facts before Rahul Gandhi, a group of leaders from UP met the party general secretary.

Lucknow: Alleging that a "selected few" presented "distorted" facts before the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and demoralised grass root workers which led to party`s drubbing in recent Uttar Pradesh polls, a group of leaders from UP on Friday met the party general secretary.

They appealed for handing over the reins of the state, before the next general elections, to the "grass root worker".

The leaders, who have worked in NSUI and Youth Congress since 1990, had a 15-minute meeting with Rahul at 10, Janpath, party sources here said.

In a memorandum, they pointed out despite his (Rahul`s) all out attempts, a selected few in the party chose to "distort the facts" before him which led to the defeat, and demoralised the grass root workers.
Giving 12 points for the defeat, they mentioned lack of coordination between the UPCC and candidates of district and city committees and failure of the state unit to translate into action various programmes announced by Rahul himself like "jail bharo andolan" during Kanpur rally and plans to hold kisan rallies during the Bhatta Parsaul stir.

Alleging that the rule that no newcomer would get post without serving the party for at least three years was violated, they said giving high posts to those who had earlier ditched the party led to disappointment among the workers. They also identified two central ministers who failed even to make their representatives win Jhansi and Padrauna assembly seats and have expressed concern that no responsibility was fixed.

They said that a road map should be chalked out for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections for which it is important to have the "leadership of a man who operates at the grass root level" and had organisation building capabilities and respected by all.

"Tickets were given to former Samajwadi Party workers in Gaya, Etawah, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad, Auraiyya, Kanpur, Kannauj, Etah who managed only 4,000-5,000 votes although it was stated that each prospective candidate would hold a big rally in the constituency", they said.

"It is important the leadership should be in the hands of a person who can put stiff challenges before the SP, fight it out at the ground level against the failures of the present government," the memorandum said.
PTI