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Journalism of Courage
NAGPUR, MARCH 5: The controversy over the election of Yashwant Meshram as the Republican Party of India’s civic group leader intensified today with over a dozen office-bearers of the party’s state and city units opposing his appointment.
The leaders, in a statement issued today, demanded that the controversy be resolved by the party’s national executive at its meeting scheduled for March 7 in New Delhi. They criticised a section of the party leadership for hastily announcing Meshram’s name and installing him as the new civic group leader.
They recalled that the party’s national general secretary Jogendra Kawade had assured local leaders on February 21 that the issue would be resolved after his return from Delhi on February 27. But without waiting for his return from Delhi, a section of the leaders announced Meshram’s name, they said.
The party’s state unit leader Umakant Ramteke and other leaders were not taken into confidence. A report submitted in this regard by the party’s city unit president Prahlad Durge was not taken into consideration either, before announcing Meshram’s name, they alleged.
Meshram and his supporters produced a letter issued by Kawade endorsing his (Meshram’s) election as party leader in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. The letter, issued on February 23, was produced on March 1.
However, by then, party president Ramdas Athawale had assured Ramteke and others that the national executive would discuss the issue. Referring to Athawale’s assurance, party leaders claimed that the letter issued by Kawade had lost its significance.
While stressing that the leadership issue would be resolved only at the party’s national executive meeting, they contested Meshram’s claim that the statement issued by Ramteke about Athawale’s assurance amounted to breach of party discipline. Ramteke, being the party’s state unit general secretary, did his duty by issuing a statement about the party president’s views, they maintained.
