Patna, Sept. 27: Axed Bihar Congress chief Ashok Choudhary today launched a scathing attack on the party high command, in particular general secretary C.P. Joshi, alleging that he was humiliated because he was a Dalit.

'I am a dedicated Congressman and expected an honourable exit. I was waiting to resign. I did not resign on my own because I did not want to embarrass the party high command. AICC general secretary (in charge of Bihar) C.P. Joshi gave an interview to a media house to announce my removal. He could have telephoned me and told me of the decision so I could resign,' Choudhary said at a news conference, breaking down in front of media persons and insisting that this was not only his insult 'but an insult to the entire Dalit community'.

'I was removed (as Bihar Congress president) because I am a Dalit,' he repeated.

Choudhary, who is against continuing the alliance with the RJD, insisted he had no plans of leaving the Congress and speculation that he would switch over to the JDU was part of a conspiracy hatched by Joshi. 'But I will launch a jihad against leaders like C.P. Joshi who conspired against me just to make one person the state party chief. After sinking the Congress in Assam, Manipur and West Bengal, Joshi is now planning to sink the Congress in Bihar,' Choudhary said.

Though Choudhary didn't name the person, Congress sources have been speculating ever since the downfall of the Grand Alliance government that former Union minister Akhilesh Singh is poised to become the state party chief. Singh hails from Arwal district and is considered close to RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

Choudhary said he and his family had been serving the Congress for the past 70 years. 'Rahul Gandhi sits with Dalits to have lunch and dinner. But there was a need for the Congress to send a message that it respects the Dalits and backward castes as much as upper castes,' he said.

Choudhary thanked Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for allowing him to be state president for more than four-and-a-half years and then rattled off what he said were his 'achievements'.

'It was the longest tenure by anyone in recent times. I consider myself a successful president. When I took over, the party had just four MLAs and virtually no representation in the Legislative Council. Today we have 27 MLAs and six MLCs. I undertook a long padyatra to galvanise party workers. I do not take the entire credit but I played a key role in several decisions,' he said.

Asked about the speculation that he (Choudhary) was trying to split the Congress, he retorted: 'This speculation has been going on for the last 50 days. Where is the authenticity? It was a conspiracy against me,' he said.

On the Congress's continued ties with the RJD, Choudhary said he had recommended to the high command that the party should stand on its own feet and alliances could be discussed during elections. 'But that decision is for the party high command to take,' he said.

Asked who was a better choice for alliance, Lalu Prasad or Nitish Kumar, Choudhary remarked: 'That answer is known by everybody, right from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.'

Caretaker president of the state Congress, Kaukab Quadri, who took over his new post today, dismissed Choudhary's charges. 'It is the party which made him a minister and the person he is today,' he said.

However, Choudhary found sympathy in the BJP camp. Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the Congress had insulted a Dalit leader. 'This is why the Congress is losing the support of Dalits nationwide,' Modi said.