Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 12: Contrary to its ethical posturing on various issues, the Congress Party has so far been reluctant to take action against the office bearers, involved in criminal cases. The inaction of Congress leadership against an influential leader has exposed the grand old party, which is silent on the violation of its own rulebook.
On the page seven of candidate’s handbook issued by the Election Authority of Indian Youth Congress, it is written that any person, who has been charged with an offence punishable with imprisonment of five years or more will not be eligible to contest the election either if he/she has been convicted, or if the court has taken cognizance of the case and if a charge sheet has been filed in the case.
However, a senior leader of Youth Congress was an accused in the much publicized ETT scam involving the session of 2007-2009. The Crime Branch has already filed a charge sheet, while the fifth supplementary charge sheet was filed in the month of December last year before the Special Anti-corruption Jammu against eight accused persons. Among the eight accused persons, one was a senior member of Youth Congress. In the ETT scam, Crime branch had filed various charges against the accused persons under section 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B. Moreover as per law book, punishment under section 420 is up to seven years, while punishment under Section 467 and 468 is for a term, which may extend up to ten years and Section 120 b is criminal conspiracy.
“If go by the rule book of Youth Congress, the charge sheet has already been presented by the Crime Branch, which is evident from the fifth supplementary charge sheet, while the punishment involved in the offences was more than five years. As per rulebook, the candidature of a senior leader of youth wing would have been cancelled years earlier, but same has been ignored even today by the party”, an insider said, adding that if the party was unable to implement its own rulebook, then how it could claim that it would implement the assurances given by it to the people before elections. “Your party’s rulebook is framed by you and you have kept the punishment as well as privileges to the party cadre but if same book is openly violated by the party itself, it ultimately dent the image of party, which is not a good sign”, the insider said, adding that the serious leadership of the party should take initiative to at least implement its own rulebook within the party. |
