Raj Babbar announces four-member interim committee for ad hoc basis

A day after dissolving media, finance, administration and organisation units of UP Congress unit, state chief Raj Babbar on Thursday announced a four-member interim committee to run the administration on an ad hoc basis.

As per a communiqué released on Thursday evening, the interim committee comprises of state vice-president RP Tripathi, Satish Ajmani, Harish Bajpai and Hanuman Tripathi. 

While Tripathi was earlier the head of organisation and administration, before they were dissolved on Wednesday, Ajmani and Hanuman Tripathi were also in the committee. The surprise inclusion is that of Harish Bajpai, who was head of administration in the previous Nirmal Khatri regime and was ousted when Babbar took charge.

Sources said that soon the new office bearers of the dissolved units would be announced. But dissolving of media committee has created more ruckus withing UP Congress as all 21 spokesperson and other leaders were instructed not to give any bite or statement  to the media. Sources said that only on Thursday, Raj Bhadhur of disciplinary committee issued show cause notice to three former spokespersons including Suchi Viswas, Surendra Rajput and Hilal Ahmed, asking them why action should notbe taken against them for representing the party despite Babbar’s recent orders. 

Interestingly, a former spokesperson said that Babbar could not restrict any UPCC officed bearer from talking to anyone as he / she was elected by consent of the Congress president and the constitution does not empower Babbar to givegag orders. 

The leader said that such restrictions could be imposed only on those office bearers who were appointed by Babbar as state Congress president. 

The UP Congress is on a revamp mode for the 2019 general elections and new members in the committee would be appointed balancing caste and regional equations.