Former Union Minister Manish Tewari. (Source: Express Archive) Former Union Minister Manish Tewari. (Source: Express Archive)

With an eye on the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, former Union Minister Manish Tewari on Tuesday opened a front against his rival and former city MP Pawan Kumar Bansal by picking holes in the Chandigarh Congress unit, headed by a Bansal aide.

Criticising the way the unit was being handled, Tewari said, “The need of the hour in Chandigarh Congress unit is to take everybody along and address the right kind of issues which is not happening here.”

“I hold meetings with people every week. I get sufficient feedback [on the local unit],” he told Chandigarh Newsline.

Tewari said crucial issues were not being raised by the Congress here. “For what the international airport was

made when international flights are not taking off from there? People have been burdened with house tax. I am surprised that the local MP has got two government accommodations, one in Delhi and one in Chandigarh,” he said. “Why are such issues not being raised?”

Tewari’s close aide B B Bahl, former city Congress chief, said that Tewari would soon hold a meeting of office-bearers following reports about them being fed up with Bansal’s autocratic behaviour. “Everybody is fed up with Pawan Bansal’s attitude; his own office-bearers are not an exception. He is not cooperating with people of Chandigarh. A meeting will be held in a day or so,” said Bahl.

On his holding a meeting, Tewari said that there was a necessity for transparency in the working of an organisation.

After Bansal lost the Lok Sabha polls last year, Tewari has been taking a keen interest in city politics. Tewari is a claimant to the Congress ticket for the next Lok Sabha election in Chandigarh. Tewari’s supporters said that he wanted to start at the grassroots level and the Municipal Corporation elections next year would be held under his leadership.

However, Bansal said, “I choose to ignore his remarks. It is common knowledge that Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee under the presidentship of Pradeep Chhabra is doing an excellent work. The local unit wasn’t that active even during my time.”

The rift within the Congress unit surfaced when some time back, Bahl had invited Tewari to address a public meeting at Maloya where Bansal and his supporters, including Chhabra, were conspicuous by their absence.

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