Ahmedabad, Feb 23 (PTI) Gujarat Congress leader and former Leader of Opposition in the BJP-ruled Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Dinesh Sharma, on Wednesday resigned from the primary membership of the party.
Hours after Sharma announced his resignation, Gujarat Congress President Jagdish Thakor suspended him from the party for making serious allegations against party leaders and their working style.
Sharma was appointed the Leader of Opposition (LoP) of the BJP-ruled AMC by the Congress leadership following the 2015 local bodies polls. However, just months before the polls in February 2021, he was removed from the post. Later, he lost the civic elections.
Ever since his unceremonious exit as the LoP, Sharma had been vocal about the party’s functioning and had also tried to make a representation to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
In his resignation letter, Sharma has said though he had tried hard to push leaders to take quick decisions and strengthen the party, there was absolutely no change in the organization’s functioning.
“The Congress party is suffering because of its working style and lack of decision-making ability. I can not endure this at the cost of my own self respect. Since none of my suggestions were accepted, I am left with no other option but to leave the party,” said Sharma, a three-time Congress corporator.
After giving his resignation, Sharma made some scathing remarks about top party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi.
“Jagdish Thakor had once threatened a past state unit president with a sword. Instead of suspending him, he is now made the president. Some selected leaders are running the show in Gujarat and they are not allowing young leaders like me to come forward and take the lead,” Sharma told reporters.
“Anyone can meet the Prime Minister within 24 hours of taking an appointment. But, Rahul Gandhi, who is not in power, does not have time to meet party leaders like me. I tried to meet him when I was the LoP. But, he could not spare even one minute,” said Sharma.
Later in the day, Thakor issued Sharma’s suspension letter, saying he has made baseless and derogatory remarks about the party’s top leaders.
“The Congress is an ocean and it is made up of crores of party workers. Since the Assembly elections are approaching, it is natural for some people to switch sides. Exit of some people will not impact the party,” Thakor told reporters. PTI PJT PD RSY RSY
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Source: The Print
