No one knew he was joining, probe ordered
On Sunday, Gaurav Upadhyay had joined Congress in Lucknow with a large number of supporters On Sunday, Gaurav Upadhyay had joined Congress in Lucknow with a large number of supporters
A DAY after a Shiv Sena leader was inducted in the Congress, only to be expelled hours later, the party on Monday ordered an inquiry into the matter while also issuing fresh guidelines for the induction of new leaders. On Sunday, Gaurav Upadhyay had joined Congress in Lucknow with a large number of supporters. Soon after, these “supporters”, who turned out to be daily wage labourers, started demanding money which Upadhyay had allegedly promised them for participating in the event.
Congress state president Raj Babbar and AICC general secretary in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad, who were both in Lucknow on Sunday, were reportedly unaware of Upadhyay joining the party.
“It is a sad incident and against the policy and ideology of the Congress. An inquiry is being conducted into the entire incident… how it happened without the matter being in the knowledge of any senior leader. None of us knew that he was joining the party,” said R P Tripathi, general secretary in-charge of organisation, who will conduct the probe. Asked whether action would be against the person who took the initiative to induct
Upadhyay, Tripathi said it would become clear only after the probe is completed. Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chairman Ram Krishna Dwivedi, who was present at the event where Upadhyay joined the party, said: “First thing we did was to remove the person with immediate effect. Now, we are looking into the entire incident. Further action will be decided accordingly.”
When contacted, Upadhyay said: “This is the work of my opponents. Those who had come with me were my supporters. I do not know from where these labourers came and created a ruckus. I have written to Congress state president Raj Babbar to probe the entire incident.”
Upadhyay, who had contested the UP elections from Lucknow Cantonment seat as a Shiv Sena candidate, claimed he had met Babbar in New Delhi before joining the party officially in Lucknow. “I have also requested that I should have been given chance to explain myself, rather than being removed without the party seeking any explanation,” he said.
The Congress, meanwhile, issued strict guidelines for induction of new leaders. From now on, the district and city party presidents concerned would conduct background verification of the leaders willing to join Congress. After the district head gives a go-ahead, the party zonal in-charge would have to recommend the leader, following which, the state president would be informed of the matter.
“Senior leader Madan Mohan Shukla has been made in-charge of this… every recommendation for new inductions would have to go though him. He would get the leader’s background verified from the district unit… the zonal in-charge would recommend the leader and then the matter would be sent to the state president,” said Tripathi.
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