LS defeat collective responsibility, not Rahul's alone: Ashok Chavan
Mumbai: The Congress' massive defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls was a "collective responsibility" and not that of party chief Rahul Gandhi alone, Maharashtra state unit chief Ashok Chavan said Saturday.
Chavan added that there was no question of accepting Gandhi's resignation as party chief. Chavan himself lost from Nanded Lok Sabha seat to BJP's Pratap Chiklikar.
"The campaign was a collective responsibility. Rahul Gandhi worked hard and led from the front. All senior leaders in states who hold positions in the state units should quit, so that a new team can take over. My colleagues and I are ready to resign due to the poor show of the Congress in Maharashtra," Chavan told reporters here.
The Congress was reduced to just one seat in Maharashtra, with Suresh Dhanorkar winning from Chandrapur. The state has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the highest after Uttar Pradesh's 80.
"There is no dissension in the party. Everyone was taken into confidence while taking decisions regarding the elections. We will act against those responsible for anti- party activities. A report has been sought," Chavan added.
Chavan admitted that the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Agadhi (VBA), which has the AIMIM as a constituent, had cost the Congress-NCP alliance "nine to ten seats".
Chavan called the VBA the "B team of the BJP". Chavan lost in Nanded by 40,000 votes and the VBA candidate there managed to poll around one lakh votes.
Chavan expressed confidence that Assembly polls, scheduled in the state later this year, would be a different story and the Congress would do well.
The party's highest decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee, meanwhile met in Delhi Saturday to review the party's drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls.
The CWC meeting, chaired by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, is being attended by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Uttar Pradesh (East) in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and chief ministers of four party-ruled states -- Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh -- and of the Union Territory Puducherry.
There were speculations that Congress president might offer his resignation taking moral responsibility for the party's poor performance in the polls.
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6 held for murder of Congress leader in Ludhiana
Ludhiana (PTI): Six persons have been arrested in connection with the murder of Congress leader Parminder Tiwari, who was hacked to death with an axe on Sunday in Machhiwara here.
Tiwari, the block president of the Congress party from Machhiwara in Ludhiana, was murdered on March 29 while sitting outside his rented quarters near Takhran village
Deputy Commissioner of Police Jaskaranjit Singh Teja stated the case is neither linked to politics nor gang rivalry.
The main accused, Vijay Kumar and Lucky, were apprehended in Jamalpura village in Munger district, Bihar, by a special team dispatched there, police said.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the suspects aimed to illegally occupy a piece of panchayat land in the Machiwara area, but Tiwari opposed their plans. The accused allegedly visited Tiwari at his rented quarters on March 29 and attacked him with an axe, resulting in his immediate death, officials said.
The other four individuals arrested are relatives of the main accused and were aware of the murder plot, the DCP added.
Police have recovered the axe used in the crime, as well as the motorcycle the accused used to flee the scene.
