Amid reports that her appointment as secretary in-charge of Punjab has left the Congress embarrassed, Kumari met Sonia and accused BJP, AAP and Shiromani Akali Dal of unnecessarily making an issue out of a "non-issue".
"I am sorry, I cannot oblige them," she told reporters, rejecting calls for her resignation.
"I have been given full mandate by the Congress president and vice president to work for the party in Punjab," she said after her meeting.
The information, coming as it did close on the heels of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath relinquishing the post of general secretary in-charge of Punjab, days after being appointed, over allegations of his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, was reported to have caused embarrassment to the party.
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"It is for parties to decide who is going to lead the party. If somebody is there in government, it is a different issue," she said, adding AAP cannot decide who will lead the Congress in which state.
AICC sources said Kumari will not continue as AICC secretary in-charge of Haryana, a responsibility she was handling for some. Kamal Nath continues to be AICC general secretary in-charge of Haryana even after relinquishing the charge of Punjab.
"We are very much geared up to form the government in Punjab and BJP and others are scared," she said.
Defending herself in the case in which she was convicted and sentenced to a year's imprisonment, Asha Kumari said, "It has become fashionable to use the word 'land grabbing'. How can I grab the land which belongs to my father-in-law."
Kumari said the case was related to a property which was owned by her father-in-law and the tenants had forged some papers to claim ownership, which was challenged in court.