Month after veiled attack on Hooda, Haryana Cong leader Sampat Singh quits party
Chandigarh (PTI): A month after taking a veiled dig at former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's appointment as the CLP leader in Haryana, senior state Congress leader Sampat Singh quit the party on Sunday.
In his resignation letter addressing Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Singh gave a detailed account of how circumstances were allegedly created in the party, forcing several leaders to switch to other parties over the years.
The former Haryana minister claimed that "no accountability has been fixed for the party's continuous decline" in the state over the last 15 years.
A month ago, Singh had taken a veiled dig at Hooda's appointment as the CLP leader, asking "if the party wanted to appoint the same person, what was the need to wait for one year".
The Congress central leadership named Hooda as the CLP leader in Haryana on September 29, almost a year after the assembly polls in which the BJP returned to power a third consecutive term.
Without taking Hooda's name, Singh then said that the Congress had handpicked a person and made him the chief minister when it won 67 out of 90 seats under the leadership of Bhajan Lal in 2005.
"After this, over the years, leaders from prominent political families, including Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal, were sidelined in the party," Sampat had said.
The six-time MLA described how he was sidelined despite his contribution and experience.
He said he joined the Congress in 2009 (after he left INLD).
"I was assured the Fatehabad Assembly seat, but assigned Nalwa instead. The people of Nalwa, however, placed their trust in my ethics and commitment, and elected me as their representative in the Haryana Assembly," he said.
"But Congress lost the Fatehabad seat, a direct result of public resentment over my shift to Nalwa despite winning Fatehabad five times. My entry helped the Congress win about half a dozen additional seats in regions where I had political influence," he wrote.
"Despite my contribution and experience, I was denied a cabinet berth or any organisational role. I later learned that this was because I had met Kumari Selja after the elections, and her ministry (as then Union minister) had approved a Rs 18 crore grant for my constituency," he said.
He said the history repeated in the 2019 Assembly elections, when he was again denied a ticket, and both Nalwa and Fatehabad were won by the BJP.
"In 2024, I was appointed coordinator for the Lok Sabha elections in Sirsa constituency, where Kumari Selja was contesting as the Congress candidate. Due to my sincere efforts for her victory, the party's state leadership felt insecure. In the same year, I attended Kumari Selja's rally in Narnaund, which angered the state leadership. Later that year, I was again denied a party ticket, and the Congress lost Nalwa once again," he said.
Singh further alleged that in 2024 Haryana Assembly polls, "capable candidates were ignored, while tickets were given to those with money power."
He alleged that Congress in Haryana has been reduced to a personal fiefdom, where "loyalty is rewarded with servitude and dissent with exile".
No accountability has been fixed for the party's continuous decline between 2009 and 2024, he said.
Singh's resignation letter gave a detailed account of leaders who left the party, including late Bhajan Lal, Rao Inderjit Singh, Kuldeep Bishnoi, Dharambir Singh and Arvind Sharma.
It talked about how circumstances were allegedly created within the party, forcing many senior leaders to quit and join other outfits.
"Shruti Choudhry, two-term MP and granddaughter of late Bansi Lal, was denied a ticket from Bhiwani. Today, she is a cabinet minister in the BJP government in Haryana," he said.
"Kiran Choudhry, a five-term MLA, former Deputy Speaker in Delhi, and two-term cabinet minister in Haryana, was repeatedly insulted and sidelined. When she served as the CLP leader, a certain group's MLAs were instructed to boycott her meetings. Her departure from the Congress was celebrated by those now presiding over its decline. She went on to help the BJP secure five of six seats in Bhiwani-Dadri and is now a BJP Rajya Sabha member," he further wrote.
Savitri Jindal, a three-term MLA and two-term minister, resigned from the Congress. She now serves as an Independent MLA backing the BJP government in the state. Her son Naveen Jindal, a three-time MP, also left the Congress and is now a BJP MP from Kurukshetra, Singh said.
He further said, "Kumari Selja, AICC general secretary and one of India's tallest Dalit women leaders, was appointed Haryana Congress president but removed in 2022 at the insistence of the state leadership. She was systematically prevented from performing her duties".
Singh said that the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections should serve as a case study for the Congress as despite "every survey, media outlet, and informal assessment predicting a Congress victory, the party suffered defeat, a result that came as no surprise to those aware of the persistent decay within the organisation. Since 2009, the party has ignored every warning sign as its fortunes steadily declined".
Taking a veiled dig at Hooda, Singh said, "The state leadership consolidated its personal political power. In 2020, when a Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant, instead of promoting a deserving member from the Scheduled or Backward Castes, the leader's own son (Deepender Singh Hooda) was nominated, turning a national party into a regional family enterprise."
"Even Randeep Singh Surjewala, a four-term MLA and INC General Secretary, had to be nominated from Rajasthan due to factionalism. Later, Ajay Maken, Congress treasurer, lost the Rajya Sabha election from Haryana, another reflection of the leadership crisis," Singh alleged.
"..Under these circumstances, I have lost faith in the ability of the Indian National Congress to represent the interests of the people of Haryana. As a proud Haryanvi, I cannot let my people down. My commitment to Haryana remains steadfast, but my faith in the current Congress leadership does not," he said, citing the reason for tendering his resignation.
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Deep societal faultlines persist despite 75 years of independence: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Judge cites denial of home to Muslim girl, opposition to Dalit women cooking mid-day meals
Hyderabad, February 23, 2026: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said that despite repeated affirmations of constitutional morality by courts, deep societal faultlines rooted in caste and religious discrimination continue to shape everyday realities in India.
Speaking at a seminar on “Constitutional Morality and the Role of District Judiciary” organised by the Telangana Judges Association and the Telangana State Judicial Academy in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan reflected on the gap between constitutional ideals and social practices.
He cited a recent instance involving his daughter’s friend, a PhD scholar at a private university in Noida, who was denied accommodation in South Delhi after her surname revealed her Muslim identity. According to Justice Bhuyan, the landlady bluntly informed her that no accommodation was available once her religious background became known.
In another example from Odisha, he referred to resistance by some parents to the government’s mid-day meal programme because the food was prepared by Dalit women employed as cooks. He noted that some parents had objected aggressively and refused to allow their children to consume meals cooked by members of the Scheduled Caste community.
Describing these incidents as “the tip of the iceberg,” Justice Bhuyan said they reveal how far society remains from the benchmark of constitutional morality even 75 years into the Republic. He observed that while the Constitution lays down standards of equality and dignity, the morality practised within homes and communities often diverges sharply from those values.
He emphasised that constitutional morality requires governance through the rule of law rather than the rule of popular opinion. Referring to the evolution of the doctrine through judicial decisions, he cited Naz Foundation v Union of India, in which the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, holding that popular morality cannot restrict fundamental rights under Article 21. Though the judgment was later overturned in Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation, the Supreme Court ultimately restored and expanded the principle in Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India, affirming that constitutional morality must prevail over majoritarian views.
“In our constitutional scheme, it is the constitutionality of the issue before the court that is relevant, not the dominant or popular view,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also addressed the functioning of the district judiciary, underlining that trial courts are the first point of contact for most litigants and form the foundation of the justice delivery system. He stressed that due importance must be given to the recording of evidence and adjudication of bail matters.
Highlighting the role of High Courts, he said their supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution is intended as a shield to correct grave jurisdictional errors, not as a mechanism to substitute the discretion or factual appreciation of trial judges.
He recalled that several distinguished judges, including Justice H R Khanna, Justice A M Ahmadi, and Justice Fathima Beevi, began their careers in the district judiciary.
On representation within the judicial system, Justice Bhuyan noted that Telangana has made significant strides in gender inclusion. Out of a sanctioned strength of 655 judicial officers in the Telangana Judicial Service, 478 are currently serving, of whom 283 are women, exceeding 50 per cent representation. He added that members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and persons with disabilities are also represented in the state’s judiciary.
He observed that greater representation of women, marginalised communities, persons with disabilities, and sexual minorities would help make the judiciary more inclusive and reflective of India’s diversity. “The judiciary must represent all the colours of the rainbow and become a rainbow institution,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to the recent restoration by the Supreme Court of the requirement of a minimum three years of practice at the Bar for entry-level judicial posts. While acknowledging that the requirement ensures practical exposure, he cautioned that its impact on women aspirants, especially those from rural or small-town backgrounds facing social and financial constraints, would need to be carefully observed over time.
Concluding his address, he reiterated that the justice system must strive to bridge the gap between constitutional ideals and lived realities, ensuring that the rule of law remains paramount.
