The Congress MLA from Badli, Kuldeep Vats, on Tuesday took a swipe at leaders within his own party, alleging that certain “mathadheesh” at both the Central and state levels were weakening the organisation and demoralising workers.
Without naming anyone, Vats warned that he would not hesitate to launch a campaign against such leaders if they failed to work towards strengthening the party.
Calling for intervention by senior leadership, he said, “Rahul needs to look not just at Haryana but across the country, where several Congress leaders are in close proximity with the BJP and weakening the party. I can provide proof of this,” Vats said while interacting with mediapersons.
His remarks came a day after his birthday celebrations, which were attended by Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda, Jhajjar MLA Geeta Bhukkal and other party leaders.
Vats also attributed the Congress’ defeat in the 2024 Assembly elections to internal divisions rather than lack of public support. “The Congress’ defeat in the 2024 Assembly elections was largely due to factionalism among the party leaders, and not the public, as people had already made up their mind to bring the Congress back to power. Inviting applications for party tickets fuelled factionalism within the organisation, which played a key role in the party’s defeat. There are 17 Assembly seats, which the party lost due to factionalism among the leaders,” he said.
Responding to another question, Vats said the party leadership should also examine the reasons behind cross-voting by five Congress MLAs during the Rajya Sabha elections.
The MLA’s recent interaction with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also came up during the media interaction. Saini had attended a wedding function hosted by Vats in Jhajjar a day before the Rajya Sabha polls.
Clarifying his stand, Vats said, “Does the Chief Minister not visit the homes of Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Abhay Chautala as well? I had invited the CM by personally presenting the wedding card. It was my duty to extend due respect to him on the occasion. However, as far as party matters are concerned, I am with Bhupinder Hooda and will continue to stand by him in the future as well.”
