Congress accepts Bhajan's resignation

Congress President Sonia Gandhi today accepted the resignation of Bhajan Lal from the post of state Congress Committee president.

Bringing to a head his differences with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Bhajan Lal had offered resignation from the PCC last week citing 'pathetic' state of affairs in Haryana.

Having lost in the race for the chief ministership to Hooda about one-and-a-half years back, Bhajan made no secret of his resolve to continue the rivalry, even though the party high command had tried to indulge him by appointing his elder son Chandra Mohan, who later distanced himself from his father's brinkmanship vis-a-vis Hooda, as deputy chief minister.

The central leadership was so indulgent of the former CM that he was re-appointed PCC chief a few months back despite the fact that he had raised a banner of revolt against the CM and even boycotted the Congress Legislature Party meeting.

Bhajan wanted his other son and Bhiwani MP Kuldip Bishnoi to be inducted in the Union Council of Ministers, party sources said.

Things came to a head about a fortnight back when Kuldip started a campaign against Hooda government over a Special Economic Zone project to be developed by the Reliance Industries.

The party issued him a show-cause notice, but the central leadership decided to put the matter to rest after Bhajan called up AICC general secretary in charge of Haryana Janardan Dwivedi to apologise on behalf of his son, said sources.

Meanwhile, the state PCC was re-constituted in which most of Bhajan's loyalists as also son Kuldip got a short shrift.

What prompted the former CM to resign from the PCC was the fact that Sonia refused to grant him audience even though he had camped in Delhi almost the entire last week, according to Bhajan's close aides.

"The moment he (Bhajan) decided to go to the media with his resignation letter (last Saturday), it was clear that he could no longer be entertained," said a senior party leader.