Bihar YC chief axed, says others too face charges

As Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi embarks on an ambitious exercise to transform the existing system in his party, the so-called revolution that he introduced in the Youth Congress through internal polls seems to be developing the same ills that he has set out to rectify in the parent party.

On Thursday, newly-elected Bihar Youth Congress president Sanjeev Singh was disqualified by the Foundation of Advanced Management of Elections, an NGO that oversees the election process in the Youth Congress. IYC president Rajiv Satav said the disqualification was done due to non-disclosure of "some charges" against Sanjeev.

Sanjeev and outgoing Bihar YC president Lallan Singh have, however, questioned the move, citing FIRs and court cases against many elected office-bearers. Old newspaper clippings purportedly containing photographs of one of the office-bearers in handcuffs are in circulation in party circles. "If Sanjeev has been disqualified because of a 17-year-old case, the same criteria should be applied against the newly elected vice-president who is facing many cases, and many general secretaries who were named in FIRs in connection with serious crimes," said Lallan, who has been asked to continue till further orders.

"I have been disqualified in a case in which I was never chargesheeted or arrested. It was regarding allegations of irregularities in an engineering entrance examination. I was among 250 students who had taken admission and were named in the case. The CBI has not filed any chargesheet. What about the office-bearers who are facing more serious charges," said Sanjeev.

This has come at a time when Rahul has been holding meetings with office-bearers to get their feedback about the state of affairs in the organisation before he introduces rules and regulations to address the ills in the system. After three rounds of interactions with office-bearers, he has called state Congress chiefs and CLP leaders to Delhi on February 15.

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