KUNAL SHRIVATSA
JAMMU, Feb 18: Even as the Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) was reconstituted with much fanfare a few days back by the party high command, a section of Congress men particularly from Rajouri and Poonch districts are grumbling over their neglect in the distribution of posts to look after the key assignments in the party.
Sources within Congress informed Early Times that a sense of resentment is prevailing among a major chunk of party leaders representing Rajouri and Poonch districts as they are feeling cheated with the decision of party high command.
The discontented party leaders are not ready to accept the recent list of office bearers as they feel that rank outsiders and juniors have been made office bearers while being senior and loyal soldiers of the party for years together their claim was ignored.
"A large number of leaders who have been given the responsibility of office bearers had contested elections against the official Congress candidates in the recent past where as those who have been given precious years of their life in the service of the party were dumped," said sources.
"Ex-Minister Thakur Puran Singh who was not even handling any assignment in District Congress Committee (DCC), Rajouri or PCC has been directly elevated as PCC Vice President which is a clear evidence of the irrational distribution of party posts," Similarly, Choudhary Masood who contested the last assembly election as independent candidate from Darhal constituency has been nominated as PCC Secretary... Even he was not assigned any responsibility either in DCC, Rajouri or PCC.
A Congress leader wishing anonymity said that what to talk of when a junior like Rashid Choudhary who was only a General Secretary of Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC) till February 14, was bestowed with the responsibility of PCC General Secretary.
"We fail to understand on what merits he (Rashid) was made PCC General Secretary.... He got elected as General Secretary of PYC only in May 2012 that too after securing only 27 votes under Scheduled Tribe quota... It is quite surprising that all of a sudden he was inducted to the parent organization that too with a prized post," he said.
Sources further said the composition of PCC by the party high command is clearly a betrayal with the dedicated party activists as the fresh list contained those names who are not even primary members of the party till recently.
"Take for example the case of Mohammad Shafi Dar, who joined Congress at Rajouri last month only after getting expelled from PDP... The party's decision to nominate him as PCC Secretary within one month of his joining has came like a shock for several Congress leaders of the region who are serving the party with devotion for the last so many years," said a party leader.
It is worthwhile to mention here that the reconstituted committee has as many as 12 Vice Presidents, 25 General Secretaries, 27 Organizing Secretaries, one treasurer and 52 Secretaries.
Besides, all the Congress Ministers, MLAs, MLCs, Vice-Presidents, General Secretaries, District Presidents, Organizing Secretaries, Secretaries, Joint Secretaries and heads of frontal organizations will be ex-officio members of the Executive Committee which has strength of 169.
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