Self-respect is non-negotiable: Anand Sharma quits as head of party’s steering committee in Himachal

India

oi-Deepika S

New
Delhi,
Aug
21:
Senior
Congress
leader
Anand
Sharma
on
Sunday
said
he
was
resigning
as
chief
of
Himachal
Pradesh
unit
days
after
a
similar
move
in
its
Jammu
and
Kashmir
unit,
led
by
veteran
Ghulam
Nabi
Azad.

Sharma,
in
a
letter
to
Congress
president
Sonia
Gandhi,
is
learnt
to
have
said
that
his
self-respect
is
“non-negotiable”
and
he
has
resigned
from
the
post.

Sharma
has
told
the
Congress
chief
that
he
has
been
ignored
in
the
consultation
process.
However,
he
told
Gandhi
that
he
will
continue
to
campaign
for
the
party
candidates
in
the
state.

The
former
union
minister
and
deputy
leader
of
the
Congress
in
Rajya
Sabha
was
appointed
as
chairman
of
the
Steering
Committee
in
Himachal
Pradesh
on
April
26.

Both
Azad
and
Sharma
are
prominent
leaders
of
the
G23
grouping
which
has
been
critical
of
the
decisions
of
the
party
leadership
The
grouping
comprising
prominent
veterans
including
Bhupinder
Singh
Hooda
and
Manish
Tewari
has
been
insisting
on
genuine
elections
right
from
the
block
up
to
the
CWC
level.

Sharma,
who
is
considered
among
the
tallest
leaders
of
Himachal
Pradesh,
has
reportedly
told
the
Congress
president
in
his
letter
that
his
self-respect
has
been
hurt
as
he
has
not
been
consulted
or
invited
for
any
of
the
meetings
of
the
party.

The
Congress
is
seeking
to
wrest
power
from
the
BJP
in
Himachal
Pradesh
in
assembly
polls
slated
later
this
year.

Sharma,
who
first
contested
assembly
elections
in
1982
and
was
given
a
Rajya
Sabha
ticket
by
then
prime
minister
Indira
Gandhi
in
1984,
has
been
a
Rajya
Sabha
member
ever
since
and
has
occupied
several
key
positions
in
the
party.