New Delhi, August 21
Days after veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad declined to accept the role of Jammu and Kashmir Congress Campaign Committee Chairman, senior leader Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned as Chairman of the Himachal Congress Steering Committee, formed on April 26 ahead of state elections later this year.
Sharma, 69, in a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, cited instances where he was not even informed of key election strategy meetings in Himachal Pradesh and said, “My self-respect is non-negotiable.”
Sharma, however, said in the letter that he would campaign for party candidates.
The former Union Minister and ex-deputy leader of Congress in the Rajya Sabha is embarking on a four day tour of Himachal Pradesh from Tuesday to mobilise his supporters.
Sonia Gandhi had on April 26 appointed Himachal Congress president, CLP leader and Chairman of Campaign Committee AICC besides announcing eight other committees, including a Steering Committee with Anand Sharma as Chairman and Asha Kumari as convenor.
In the letter to the Congress president, which the Tribune has accessed, Sharma said the multiplicity of committees and overlapping of functions required clarity for functional purposes. “I had requested the general secretary organisation and AICC in-charge to clarify the mandate of the steering committee to delineate its mandate and role,” Sharma wrote.
He said meetings of the core group of Himachal Congress and senior leaders on election strategy and preparations have since been held both in Delhi and Shimla, but he has not been kept in the loop.
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