Dhawan assures action on specific charges

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, AUG. 3. The AICC(I) general secretary, Mr. R. K. Dhawan, has assured action by the party leadership on specific allegations of sabotage by the partymen in the recent local body elections and ``not vague charges.'' The leadership will not brook indiscipline but the allegations should be specific, he said in an informal chat with mediapersons here on Friday.

The APCC(I) president, Mr. M. Satyanarayana Rao, who was present, intervened to say that he had already submitted a representation to the party president, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, and that the High Command responded by issuing a stern warning to partymen.

Mr. Dhawan, who is a CWC member and member-secretary of the Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC), said that Mrs. Gandhi would promptly act on all such representations by the PCC presidents. He was happy over the performance of the party in the local body elections. The party lost the election battle in the State narrowly in 1999 due to disunity among its leaders. The margin of defeat in about 60 to 70 constituencies was thin. If the leaders were united, the party would have won these seats and come to power. It should learn lessons from the past, he said.

Earlier, addressing party activists, Mr. Dhawan said people were looking forward to an opportunity to bring the Congress back to power as the present Government was unable to tackle the problems confronting the nation. He cited issues such as Kashmir, Tehelka, UTI scam and the unrest in North Eastern region in this context. The party can win the confidence of the people by exhibiting unity. It had a bright future under the leadership of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.

Mr. Satyanarayana Rao, in his speech, did refer to the role of some big leaders in harming the party's prospects in the ZP elections. ``These big leaders should not be spared at any cost,'' he pleaded with Mr. Dhawan.

Even as the AICC general secretary was exhorting partymen to stay united, a noisy demonstration was staged in front of the main entrance of the party office under the leadership of Mr. Vishnuvardhan Reddy, a local leader of Kurnool district.

The party workers came in sizable number from the district to seek disciplinary action against former Chief Minister, Mr. Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy, the DCC president, Mr. K. Suryaprakash Reddy, and others for acting against the interests of the party in the local body elections.

They carried placards denouncing the role of these leaders in the elections. They burst crackers and raised slogans against Mr. Vijayabhaskara Reddy. Mr. Dhawan came out and heard the leaders from the district before leaving the place.

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Section  : Southern States
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