Cracks emerge in Madhya Pradesh Congress unit ahead of Rahul Gandhi's visit; manifesto committee chief resigns

Mandsaur (MP): Former Congress MP from Mandsaur, Meenakshi Natarajan, has resigned from the party’s manifesto committee following the induction of her ‘bete noire’ Rajendra Singh Gautam into a party coordination panel. The development comes ahead of Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Mandsaur scheduled on 6 June, the first death anniversary of six farmers who were killed at a village here in police firing during a protest in 2017. [caption id=“attachment_4443135” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot had on Tuesday announced the formation of the party’s different committees in view of the MP Assembly elections due later this year. Natarajan, known as a trusted lieutenant of Gandhi, was appointed the chairperson of the Congress’ manifesto committee, while Gautam was made a member of the party’s state coordination committee. However, just a day after the appointment, the former Lok Sabha member and her supporters — including Congress MLA from Mandsaur’s Suvasra constituency, Hardeep Singh Dang, and party’s district vice president Mahendra Gurjar — resigned from their various organisational posts on Wednesday. Gurjar said Dang tendered his resignation as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) delegate. When contacted, Natarajan said, “I would not make any public statement on the party’s internal issues.” Notably, Gautam had during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls rebelled against the Congress when Natarajan was chosen as the party nominee from Mandsaur. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will visit Piplya Mandi village in the district on 6 June, the first death anniversary of six farmers who were killed in police firing during a protest there last year. He is expected to hold a condolence meeting-cum-rally during his visit, a state Congress leader said on Wednesday.