'Outsider' protest against Kanhaiya Kumar as Delhi Congress chief quits
The Delhi Congress workers staged a protest against Kanhaiya Kumar on Sunday, following the resignation of state Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely. Demonstrators gathered outside Kumar's newly inaugurated office, holding black placards with the message, "We need a local candidate, not an outsider." In his resignation letter, Lovely criticized Kumar for publicly praising the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, calling it a clear violation of party principles.
Why does this story matter?
Lovely cited the partnership with the AAP for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha election as a reason for his departure in his resignation letter. He pointed out that under this coalition, the Congress received only three of Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats, but two of these seats were allocated to "total strangers to the Delhi Congress and the Party Policies." Lovely was referring to Congress candidates from North West and North East Delhi, Udit Raj and Kumar, respectively.
Congress workers also staged protest earlier
Before joining Congress in 2021, Kumar served as president of the JNU Students' Union and ran for Bihar's Begusarai seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, representing the Communist Party of India (CPI). Last week, Congress workers also staged a massive protest outside the Congress office in Delhi against ticket distribution in the Lok Sabha election. They came together in large numbers and raised slogans like Baahari ummeedwaar nahi chalega.
BJP reacts to Lovely's resignation
Reacting to Lovely's resignation, the BJP claimed that AAP had "completely obliterated the existence" of Congress in the national capital, "saying they would put Sheila Dikshit and Sonia Gandhi in jail." "The Congress had complained about how the AAP is involved in the liquor scam. But merely for political reasons, they have come together, that does not mean the voters will come together," BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla said.
