Rift within Congress? Senior party leaders not invited to conference on Nehru upset

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oi-Avinash

New Delhi, Nov 21: In yet another instance that brought dissidence within the Congress out in open, reports are claiming that senior party leaders are unhappy with the party leadership.

Senior party leaders and former union ministers like P Chidambaram, AK Antony and others are upset for not being invited to the international conference to mark country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 125th birth anniversary.

Other party leaders who were missing from the event AK Antony, Jairam Ramesh, Kapil Sibal and Sushil Kumar Shinde.

The Congress high command as well as Anand Sharma, who was the main figure handling the event, are believed to be upset with these leaders for they had raised questions over party leadership ever since it lost was uprooted by BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. These leaders have called for an introspection and also asked Rahul Gandhi to become more active.

Recently, former Defence Minister AK Antony had said there is an utmost need for reorganising the grand-old-party of India. Similarly, Chidambaram and his son had also raised questions over party leadership's decisions.

Meanwhile, the Congress blamed a goof-up as the reason. Defending the leaders' absence at the event, senior party functionaries said Antony was unwell while Ramesh was abroad.

Rift within the Congress came out in open after former union minister and party's known figure in Tamil Nadu, GK Vasan, quit from the party on Nov 3.

Vasan had quit Congress, alleging that those entrusted with the duty of strengthening it had failed and announced his decision to float a new outfit on November 28 in Tiruchirappally.

Earlier yesterday, predicting a mid-term poll in Assam, Bharatiya Janata Legislature Party leader Jadab Chandra Deka has claimed that several Congressmen are willing to join BJP. The reason behind this shift is said to be losing faith in the leadership of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

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