This story is from September 21, 2016

Will not tolerate a single word against us by Congress leaders

The last few weeks have witnessed a group of senior Congress leaders, including state chief Kishore Upadhyay, come out in the open against members of the party’s ally, Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), asking them to clarify their stand for the 2017 elections on whether they would contest on a Congress ticket, as independents or from any other party.
Will not tolerate a single word against us by Congress leaders
The last few weeks have witnessed a group of senior Congress leaders, including state chief Kishore Upadhyay, come out in the open against members of the party’s ally, Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), asking them to clarify their stand for the 2017 elections on whether they would contest on a Congress ticket, as independents or from any other party.
DEHRADUN: The last few weeks have witnessed a group of senior Congress leaders, including state chief Kishore Upadhyay, come out in the open against members of the party’s ally, Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), asking them to clarify their stand for the 2017 elections on whether they would contest on a Congress ticket, as independents or from any other party. This led to a frosting of ties with CM Harish Rawat having to step in to diffuse the situation.
In an exclusive interview, state education minister Mantri Prasad Naithani, who also heads the six-member front, told TOI that even though PDF has stood with the Congress and supported it though the party’s rough patch, Congress is doubting the intentions of its allies and he will “not tolerate a single word against us by Congress leaders.”
What is your reaction to some Congress leaders asking PDF to make its stand clear for 2017 polls?
This question is surprising as it is the Congress party that needs to make its stand clear and not us. A commitment has already been made to us. As per the commitment if we contest as Congress members there is no issue but if we contest as independents, the party will not field candidates against us. The PDF has held a string of meetings and we will make our plans public once the election dates are announced.
Are you regretting the decision to support Congress in 2012?
In 2012, seven of us came together with the vision of increasing development opportunities for the state. We preferred to support Congress over BJP as we thought the party was in a position to serve the state and its people better. Till date, despite some childish statements by few Congress leaders – including Kishore Upadhyay – we have stuck to our commitment.
What prompted the alliance to remain with the Congress during the recent political turmoil and also when Vijay Bahuguna was replaced by Harish Rawat as Cm?

In the last four years, a string of development works have been carried out across Uttarakhand and keeping it in mind, we supported the Congress government. Our agenda for support was development, and there is not a single sector which has been ignored during this time span. We got all sorts of offers but we stood with Harish Rawat during the 55-day political turmoil. We need not prove our loyalty any more.
Why do you think internal differences are cropping up within Congress over PDF?
It is primarily due to a few people like Kishore Upadhyay. Despite losing the 2012 assembly elections, Upadhyay was made the Congress state chief and he needs to thank the party leaders for this. However, his acts are making the party and the CM weak in Uttarakhand. His statements are childish and make no sense. I am surprised that he held meetings in my constituency at Devprayag, Dinesh Dhanai’s constituency Tehri and Harish Chandra Durgapal’s Lalkuan constituency and in each of these three assembly seats held by PDF members, the Congress state chief did not even care to appreciate the work done by us. He fired a string of verbal attacks on PDF members and accused us of stalling development work in these constituencies. Is this the way to behave or speak about the allies who have stood with Congress through the testing times?
What is the next step for PDF?
We will announce our next step when election dates are announced but let me be very clear that we will not tolerate a single word against PDF by Upadhyay or any other Congress leader. Enough is enough and a handful of Congress leaders who are working against the party need to realize this thing. Failing which, the PDF will be forced to take steps which the Congress leaders may have never thought of.
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