Upreti releases leaflet to explain his version of division in state Congress

KN Upreti [first from left] and State Congress dissidents hold up leaflet released by them on Monday, 31 Jan 2011, to explain their version of the reasons behind factionalism in the Congress party in Sikkim.

GANGTOK, 31 Jan:
The dissident group of the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee led by KN Upreti today released a leaflet ‘Sikkim Pradesh Congress Ma Vibhajan Ko Jimmewar Ko?’
The four-page leaflet seeks to explain what the dissident group sees as the factors which led to the ‘division’ within the Congress here and blames the SPCC president, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, for it. Mr. Upreti was accompanied to the press briefing by a section [four of the nine SPCC members] of the dissidents.
Addressing a press conference today, Mr. Upreti alleged that “poor leadership” of Mr Bhandari was even keeping away several leaders from other parties from joining the SPCC even though they were very eager to join the Congress in Sikkim.
He further alleged that the SPCC president was neither meeting the people nor central leaders on the several issues facing Sikkim and that the party high command in Delhi was unaware of the “real condition of the party workers and the people” here.
Mr. Upreti even contended that dissident SDF MLA, PS Golay, and other members of the ruling party were interested to join the Congress party but were not willing to work under Mr. Bhandari’s presidentship.
He went on to claim that the party high-command has given the assurance that Mr. Bhandari would not be leading the party in the next Assembly elections.
Mr. Upreti also alleged today that the Chief Minister had negotiated with the Congress high-command [in exchange for support of Sikkim’s two Members of Parliament] to keep Mr. Bhandari as the party president here.
Only yesterday, it may be mentioned here, the SPCC observed Martyr’s Day [Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary] at the party head office here and speakers reiterated that there was no factionalism within the Congress in Sikkim.