RJD party workers demonstrate near Raj Bhavan on Saturday. Though they managed to break open the police barricade and climb up the gates, no official met them. Their demands included the dissolution of the state Assembly and the formation of a special committee to check irregularities in drought relief operations. Picture by Manik Bose

Ranchi, Aug. 29: Congress dissidents led by former Union minister Rameshwar Oraon today met party president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi and urged that she “revamped” the Jharkhand unit.

They feared that the Congress would have to eat humble pie in the next Assembly election, unless the party’s state in-charge K. Keshav Rao and state president Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu weren’t pulled up.

Former Lok Sabha MPs Furqan Ansari, Chandrashekhar Dube and Sushila Kerketta and state minority commission chairman Gulfam Muzibi, among others, were at the forefront of today’s meeting. They argued that Congress’s crusade against corruption seems to have been abandoned in the changed scenario, as the party was trying to “lure” those faced with corruption charges into its fold.

“We told our party president that impressive turnouts at Keshav Rao’s public meetings should not be the parameter for gauging the party’s popularity here. Political adventurists hire people to attend their public meetings,” said Muzibi.

Former Godda MP, Furqan Ansari alleged that instead of giving due honour to the dedicated party cadre, Balmuchu was only running after those whose loyalty to the party was questionable. This, in turn, has demoralised the old loyalists.

“Wherever we go, people ask us why the Congress is so desperate about ‘bailing out’ Bandhu Tirkey and Bhanu Pratap Sahi or eager to lure Raja Peter into its fold. We also have no answer when they ask why Ajay Maken was gunning for Madhu Koda,” said senior Congress leader Alok Dube.

However, undeterred by the misgivings, Rao and Balmuchu held a meeting with party workers in Chatra and also met with district presidents and panchayati raj samiti heads in Ranchi to plan the party’s agenda.

In another development, the RJD today gheraoed the Raj Bhavan.

“Though we had anno-unced our plan today two days ago, no one from the Raj Bhavan came forward to receive our memorandum. This clearly indicates the Governor, too, is avoiding the RJD. We advice him to call upon Congress heads on statehood foundation day, make all types of announcements, and then dissolve the Assembly,” said RJD spokesman Manohar Yadav.