Two senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) members from Uttar Pradesh have resigned from the party's primary membership, alleging that old and loyal Congress leaders are being neglected.
Shailendra Singh and Rajesh Singh sent their resignation letters to the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Kumar Lallu on Sunday. The two leaders said they had informed Congress president Sonia Gandhi as well as Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi about their decision.
Targeting the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president, Shailendra Singh told journalists on Monday that loyal and old time Congresspersons have been neglected since Mr. Lallu took over and this is why dedicated leaders are quitting the party.
He said he had informed AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi about the situation in the party many times, but she did not take any step. In such a situation, he was left with no option but to resign from the Congress, he added.
Shailendra Singh said in his resignation letter that he has been active in public service and Congress organization for the last 15 years. He is presently joint in-charge of the UPCC and a nominated member of the AICC.
Rajesh Singh said he had been an active member of the Congress since his student days and had held various positions in the NSUI, Youth Congress and UPCC in the last 25 years.
He said in his letter that he was also an elected a member of the AICC but was resigning because of the present environment of the Congress and the neglect of old Congress members.
Terming the allegations of the two leaders baseless, Congress state secretary and Allahabad in-charge Raghavendra Pratap Singh said work was being done to strengthen the Congress, right down to the nyay panchayat and booth level, under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi and Mr. Lallu.
District president of the party, Om Prakash Pandey, said both were having some dispute with the state leadership.
