Hyderabad, March 30: Former Union law minister and staunch Indira Gandhi supporter P. Shiv Shankar today resigned as a primary member of the Congress, citing neglect of the backward castes and wrong policies of party chief Sonia Gandhi.
In a four-page letter to Sonia, Shiv Shankar, whose alleged meetings with Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party boss . Chandrababu Naidu was being talked about for almost a fortnight, said he had no immediate plans to join any party.
The veteran politician told reporters at his Himayatnagar residence that he plans to hold a meeting of well-wishers from all parties in a day or two and decide his future course after consulting them. “I will, however, support any Independent candidate who seeks my support during the ensuing polls, but am out of the poll fray and party politics,” he added.
But Shiv Shankar’s remarks against Sonia left little doubt about the immediate reason for his exit from the Congress — denial of a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections from the state.
Shiv Shankar said Sonia had no knowledge of Indian culture and had chosen the wrong people to head the party organisation, both at the state and central levels. “The result is that these people who do not have moorings in the Congress culture have been making hay in diverse ways.”
Shiv Shankar has been particularly critical of Andhra Congress chief D. Srinivas, against whom, he said, there are reports of corruption even in issuing party tickets. He added that backward castes have been denied their due share of tickets. Only three backward caste leaders figure on the list of nominees for the first phase of elections on April 20.
Of the 294 Assembly constituencies, 147 will go to polls on that day along with 21 parliamentary segments.
The former Union minister also found fault with the party’s approach to the Telengana statehood issue. “The Indira Gandhi formula had tried to elevate the region instead of seeking a separate state,” he said, adding that the recent working committee decision went against the late Prime Minister’s vision for the region.
Shiv Shankar accused the Congress led by Sonia of sidelining the party’s garibi hatao plank. “The slogan seems to be alien now and even the new catchword, Congress ke haath, garibi ke saath, has gone through a lot of changes,” he asserted.
In a related development, dissident Telengana Congress members who met at the residence of six-time MP from Medak M. Baga Reddy decided to oppose all the Telengana Rashtra Samiti candidates in both Assembly and parliamentary elections, to be held simultaneously in Andhra. The meeting criticised the Congress alliance with the TRS.
Meanwhile, changes in nominations and alteration of seats continued in the Congress-led camp. Chaos prevailed at both the TRS and the Congress offices as disappointed aspirants staged demonstrations.
Leaders of both the Congress and the TRS have gone into hiding to avoid ticket seekers.