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Factionalism to fore in Puducherry Congress

— Photo: Special Arrangement

SHOW OF STRENGTH: Altercation involving Congress activists in front of the PCC office in Puducherry on Monday.

PUDUCHERRY: Rival factions of the Congress raised slogans and jostled against each other at the Pradesh Congress Committee office here on Monday when Congress Working Committee member in-charge of party affairs in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, V. Arun Kumar, was meeting party leaders and functionaries.

Shortly after Mr. Kumar arrived along with PCC president P. Shanmugam and All India Congress Committee member V. Narayanasamy, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and some of his Cabinet colleagues also came to the PCC office. Soon the rival factions started raising slogans in support of Mr. Shanmugam and Mr. Narayanasamy. There was also an altercation between them. A party activist, who objected to certain remarks being made against his leader, was pushed aside.

Mr. Kumar later told reporters he had not come with a personal agenda. “I do not have friends or enemies here…” He said Mr. Rangasamy volunteered to visit the PCC office along with his ministerial colleagues every Sunday and meet party functionaries and activists from all four regions of the Union Territory for addressing their grievances. This would instil confidence in party workers and remove their grouse that they were not being consulted on implementation of new programmes. He denied there was a complaint against Mr. Rangasamy in this regard.

On criticisms levelled by the alliance partners against the Puducherry Government, he said if the issue assumed serious proportions, some mechanism could be evolved to sort out differences. Stressing the need for upholding “coalition dharma”, Mr. Kumar said the Congress would respect the sentiments of the alliance partners, even while striving to strengthen its base.

He complimented the Government for implementing welfare measures.

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