Bhajan Lal quits PCC post: ‘Aam aadmi humiliated’

But asked if he was dissatisfied with the HPCC list, he said, “Woh to aap ko pata hi hai, who theek nahi hai. (That, you know, was not right.)”

Mangeram Gupta, a senior Congressman and close aide of Bhajan Lal, told The Indian Express on phone that the resignation had been hand-delivered to Sonia Gandhi on June 25 itself in protest against the new HPCC and other issues. “This had even been acknowledged by the party high command,’’ he said.

The copy of the three-paragraph letter leaked to media says: “ Respected Soniaji, I write this letter to you with a heavy heart. Developments in Haryana in the last 15 months have been very painful and agonising for the people of the state who voted for the Congress Party in 2005 Vidhan Sabha election.”

It further says: ‘‘Keeping in mind these developments and the unacceptable treatment meted out to Congress workers by the Congress Party and the government, I resign from the post of President of HPCC as I cannot see the humiliation of ‘aam admi’, the grasssroot Congress worker and real Congress leaders who are my family and for whom I am willing to sacrifice myself.”

Ever since Bhajan Lal lost the race for chief ministership to his arch-rival Bhupinder Singh Hooda, things have not gone well for him. Hooda camp follower Dr Ram Prakash was appointed working president, and he became a parallel power centre.

When Bhajan Lal’s other son and MP from Bhiwani protested against the style of functioning of Bhupinder Singh Hooda, he was served a show cause notice. And it was Dr Ram Prakash and not Bhajan Lal who announced the HPCC list to the media. The last straw has been the cold-shouldering of the ageing leader by the AICC president.

Bhajan Lal, a three-time chief minister who had left the Congress once during the Janata wave and returned in 1980, seems to be still trying to bargain for better say in party affairs in the state and a ministerial berth for his son Kuldip Bishnoi at the centre. But the party doesn’t seem to be in a mood to listen.

Congress general-secretary in charge of Haryana Dewendra Dwivedi said he had not received the resignation letter and showed no signs of giving in.

“He has been CM thrice, one of his sons is deputy CM, and another is a Member of Parliament. What more does he want?” Dwivedi asked.

Dwivedi had a long meeting with Sonia Gandhi over the issue, but the party seems in no mood to reach out to the sulking leader. No call was made to him, and senior party functionaries responded angrily to the leaking of the letter to the media.