Venugopal rebukes J&K Congress chief

‘He was told not to unnecessarily meddle in activities which could be done without his intervention’.

A meeting was held recently at the Congress headquarters, in 24 Akbar Road, between the top leaders of Jammu and Kashmir unit and the Congress high command regarding, what leaders claim, “lack of coordination and near dysfunctional cadre in the state”. The meeting was helmed only by organisation general secretary K.C. Venugopal and other top leaders were present in the meeting, including Vikar Rasool Wani, Rajni Patila and others.
A source privy to the developments said that there was an upfront conversation about the inability of the state chief, where he was told not to unnecessarily meddle in activities which could be done without his intervention. A source said, “He has a dictatorial role and he wants to do everything on his own. He doesn’t like empowering other people and that has precipitated this situation. The working president in the unit (Raman Bhalla) had appointed block presidents. But Wani overrode those appointments by his presidential order notifying that there should be no appointment without the approval of the president, and this had created a rift within the party. The whole meeting was to end the dispute caused by Wani. Furthermore, lines have been drawn between the president and the working president.”
Patil, who is supposed to be a bridge between the central brass and state, has, according to party leaders, been playing a “dirty role”. A large section of Congress leaders have also accused Rajni Patil of having a bipartisan approach and working in tandem with Wani without acting according to her responsibility. In view of this, Venugopal is said to have cautioned Patil and suggested her to undertake the organisational matters seriously and rationally. A source aware of the matter said, “She has to be responsible for facilitating smooth communication between the central leadership and state cadre. And she hasn’t been able to work in accordance with her responsibilities. Besides this, she works more in favour of Wani. Thus she was also warned.”
A leader in the state said, “The leadership in the state is not up to the mark and not even close to doing what a leader ought to do. Precisely, it is Wani who has acted without any responsibility all this while and the high command has taken note of it. If, after the meeting, the situation improves, then he will continue. Else, the Congress high command will be left with no choice but to replace him. Such is the sorry state of the state unit.” The Sunday Guardian talked to several state leaders, who indicated that several political processes conducted by Wani were single-handedly decided by him without taking the senior leadership in the state into confidence, and this has resulted in resentment of the senior leaders. A Congress leader said, “It’s been a long time now and he hasn’t done much for the party. His administrative skills may not be good enough to bring the state unit together or chanelise the human resource of the party into a solid political front. Thus, it is better for the party to change him and give another party leader the opportunity, as he has already been in place for a very long time without bringing any progress.”