NEW DELHI : Taking serious note of “anti party activities” including defacement of poster of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge outside party office in West Bengal, Congress has asked its general secretary incharge of the state to submit a report over the acts of indiscipline.
KC Venugopal, general secretary (organisation) issued a stern statement on Monday, stating that the party will not tolerate such “public display of defiance and indiscipline”.
Kharge’s poster was defaced with ink in front of the party’s state headquarters a day after he snubbed West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for questioning TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s loyalty to the INDIA bloc.
Sources in state Congress said that a police complaint had been filed over the defacement of Kharge’s poster and sought a probe to “unearth the conspiracy”. They said Congress workers protested outside the police station on Monday seeking early action in the matter.
In his statement, Venugopal said it has been brought to the party’s notice that a few office bearers and workers of the Indian National Congress “have made certain uncharitable remarks against the Congress President in media as well as on social media”.
“Acts of vandalizing the hoarding outside of the WBPCC office have also been carried out by certain miscreants. This has hurt the sentiments of millions of party workers and supporters”, he said.
“We are taking a very serious note of such grave anti party activities. The Indian National Congress shall not tolerate such public display of defiance and indiscipline. The General Secretary in charge of West Bengal is directed to immediately submit a factual report of these acts of gross indiscipline,” he added.
Chowdhury, who has contested the Lok Sabha polls from Baharampur, has had face off with the Trinamool Congress leaders who said in the past that he was a reason for their party not reaching an seat-sharing agreement with Congress for Lok Sabha polls.
Chowdhury had in April questioned why the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo had not put any condition regarding him earlier.
“Why did not Mamata Banerjee put a condition in the beginning that if Adhir Chowdhury is in, she will not be in the INDIA bloc? Why did she not say that because of Adhir Chowdhury she was forced to leave INDIA bloc?” Chowdhury said, speaking at a joint press conference with Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Biman Bose.
The ruling Trinamool Congress does not have a seat-sharing agreement with the Congress in West Bengal but the two parties are partners in the INDIA bloc.
In its complaint to the state police on Sunday, West Bengal Congress said some group of unidentified miscreants yesterday defaced “the images of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with black ink in multiple banners across state including the one displayed in front of the gate of Pradesh Congress Headquarters, Bidhan Bhavan”.
Condemning the act, the party unit sought a probe into the matter and “unearth the miscreants behind this conspiracy”. (ANI)