"Waited 3 days to meet CM": Himachal Pradesh Kisan Congress leader resigns from organisational posts

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 7 (ANI): Former Himachal Pradesh Kisan Congress Chief Spokesperson Kanwar Ravinder Singh on Saturday resigned from his organisational posts along with four more leaders, alleging biased appointments by the party's state leadership and claiming that party workers are finding it difficult to meet Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Speaking to ANI here, Singh said that while he has resigned from his posts in the organisation, he continues to remain a member of the Congress party.
"Earlier, I used to be the National Secretary of the All India Farmers' Congress and the Chief Spokesperson of the Himachal Pradesh Farmers' Congress. We had earlier said in a press conference that the kind of policies being implemented in Himachal Pradesh are not being appreciated by many workers. Long-time grassroots workers are being sidelined, and the news coming from Delhi or elsewhere has disappointed common workers," he said.
Singh said a large number of members associated with the Kisan Congress had resigned earlier after changes in leadership.
"Our team of nearly 5,000 people in the Farmers' Congress, which we had built while Ravi Sharma was heading it, resigned when our leader, Sohan Verma, was removed and Ravi Sharma was appointed. We expressed our opposition and resigned from our positions, but not from the Congress. We have continued to work within the party," he added.
Singh also alleged that instead of holding discussions with workers, the leadership issued notices to them.
"Unfortunately, the new leadership took the matter seriously in a different way. Instead of discussing it, they issued a show-cause notice to us through a letter. We responded to that letter, but we have not received any reply yet. Had they given importance to dialogue instead of notices, things would not have gone this far," the Congress leader said.
Explaining his decision to step down from his posts, Singh said he would now work as an ordinary party worker.
"Seeing the working style of the organisation in Himachal Pradesh, we felt that we should resign from all our posts and continue to work like ordinary Congress workers. Since the Congress came to power, we have always given the party priority, defended it in the media, organised press conferences, and put forward the party's position. We are not doing this to seek any role for ourselves. We are ideology-driven Congress workers and will always support the party," he said.
Singh also said party workers need platforms to raise public issues and criticised the lack of access to leadership.
"When a party comes to power, it becomes its responsibility to adjust workers in committees or provide them a forum where they can raise the issues of the people. If workers cannot get public work done, then there is frustration. I myself waited outside the Chief Minister's office for about three days but could not meet him, and after that I felt it was not appropriate to keep going there," Singh added.
He, however, clarified that he was not angry with the state government as a whole.
Singh said, "We are not angry with the government. There are some people within the system who are sidelining workers, and we are unhappy with them. The government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is running well. Our MLA Kuldeep Singh Rathore also worked hard to bring the Congress back to power. The late Raja Virbhadra Singh played a major role in bringing the party to power, and ignoring such a legacy and workers is what disappoints us."
Referring to the strength of his support base, Singh said thousands of workers associated with the Kisan Congress had collectively taken the decision to resign from organisational responsibilities.
The Himachal Pradesh Kisan Congress leader said, "Our project was not limited to the state level. It extended to district, block, panchayat and booth levels. Around 4,500 to 5,000 people were associated with it. Everyone unanimously decided that if the leadership of the Farmers' Congress was not among us, then we should step down from our posts".
Singh said he has not received any further communication from the party leadership after replying to the notice. "So far, there has been no interaction from their side after the notice. I have not received any other letter either. It seems they chose to send a notice instead of dialogue, and then even that process stopped. In politics, dialogue is important because it strengthens the organisation. Without dialogue, both sides fail to put forward their point, and the organisation becomes weak."
Despite his resignation from organisational posts, Singh reiterated that he would continue to remain a Congress worker and support the party's ideology. (ANI)