Congress reaches out to Anand Sharma, sends Rajeev Shukla to resolve issues

The Congress on Monday sought to reach out to senior party leader Anand Sharma, who quit as chief of the Steering Committee for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, and resolve his grievances.

State in charge Rajeev Shukla, who Sharma blamed, without taking his name, for ignoring him and leaving him out of party meetings, met party chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday evening and sources say he discussed affairs of the state and Sharma's resignation.

Shukla later meet Sharma to iron out differences, which led to a new controversy in the party. After the meeting, he said: "As a state in charge of the party it is my responsibility to meet him as he is devoted to the party... there is no problem and issues will be sorted out."

Sharma on Sunday said that he had no choice but to resign "due to continuous insults and exclusion" while asserting he will remain a committed party member.

"I have resigned with a heavy heart from the Chairmanship of the Steering Committee of the Congress for the Himachal Elections. Reiterating that I am a lifelong congressman and remain firm on my convictions

"Committed to Congress ideology that runs in my blood, let there be no doubts about this! However, given the continuing exclusion and insults, as a self-respecting person- I was left with no choice" he said in a series of tweets.

Sources close to Sharma said he has sent his letter to the Congress President after being sidelined from the working of the party unit in the state.

His resignation came in wake of Ghulam Nabi Azad quitting as the party's J&K campaign committee head.

Along with Azad, Sharma is also among the prominent leaders of the G-23 group, which has demanded sweeping reforms in the party.

--IANS

miz/vd