Tanwar backs Kiran

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 17

State Congress president Ashok Tanwar today came forward in support of CLP leader Kiran Choudhry over her remarks in which she had reportedly praised the Chief Minister for his honesty.

Tanwar said that her statement was misinterpreted. “I have clarified the statement from her,” he said. He cautioned the party leaders to refrain from issuing any statement in this regard. Before going to the media, the party leaders should raise the issue at the party platform, he said.

He was here at Rajput Dharamsala to chair a district-level function on the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj system in which panchayat representatives, including sarpanches, panches, took part.

On purchasing of a ‘Land Cruiser’ for the Chief Minister, Tanwar said that the government would not gather pace with the vehicle and instead, it should change its style of working.

Accusing IAS officer Ashok Khemka of conspiring against the previous Congress government in the state, Tanwar said that the IAS officer was hands in glove with the BJP during the Congress regime. Before any inquiry or submission of any report, he himself leaked the information, he alleged. “Now, he has to pay for his misdeeds,” he added.

Earlier, Tanwar claimed that Rajiv Gandhi had empowered the Panchayati Raj Institutions and now the state Congress had been working to empower the representatives of the PRIs.

Remarks spark row

Bhiwani: The dubbing of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar as ‘honest man’ by CLP leader Kiran Choudhry has triggered a war of words between local Congress leaders and her supporters terming each other working against the interests of the party.

Former Cooperative Minister and ex-Dadri MLA Satpal Sangwan had said that Choudhry praised Khattar to evade being nailed in scams done during her tenure as minister.

Defending Choudhry, her supporters Ram Pratap Sharma, ex-MLA Dharampal Sangwan had called him to be speaking at the behest of his political boss (ex-CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda).

They had said that since the popularity graph of Kiran was growing, leaders like Sangwan were getting jealous and issuing baseless statements to malign her image.

Kiran’s supporters also called Sangwan to be a turncoat and an opportunist politician. They also challenged Sangwan’s political boss (Hooda) to fight face to face with her (Kiran) instead of using puppet.

Sangwan loyalists today again demanded disciplinary action against Tosham MLA for heaping praise on Khattar. They also attacked former Power Minister and Congress leader Ajay Yadav for his recent closed-door meeting with Khattar.

They said that both the leaders (Kiran and Ajay) had gone and sit in the lap of the state government to save themselves from going to jail for the scams during their tenures.