Surat: Scores of disgruntled Congress workers owing allegiance to their political leaders on Saturday vandalized party office in Nanpura area while protesting against the selection of candidates of their respective wards for upcoming municipal elections later this month.
Congress workers damage the chairs and broke signboards at the party office to protest the party’s decision for fielding the new faces in the upcoming civic election. The agitating workers alleged that those given mandate by the party have not worked for the welfare of the people in their respective municipal wards.
On Saturday morning, a group of Congress workers stormed into party office shouting slogans and damaged plastic chairs, tables and the banners. The workers threatened to resign from the party, if the party did not give tickets to the deserving candidates from their wards.
Angered with the selection of candidates by the Congress leadership, former city Congress president, Sambhu Prajapati sat on a dharna outside the party office stating that the party had ignored the grassroots workers and given tickets on a platter to the ‘inexperienced’ and ‘undeserving’ people.
Talking with TOI, Prajapati said, “The party’s policy and ideology have been put on the backburner in selecting the candidates. The honest, sincere and dedicated party workers have been completely ignored. Here relatives and friends of the senior Congress leaders are getting tickets, while the grassroots workers have been pushed to the walls.”
Salim Gadhyali, a senior Congress leader said, “More than 60 Congress candidates were informed about their candidatures over phone late on Friday night. Today is the last day for filing nomination and there is a huge rush at the collector’s office. In most cases, the mandates are issued in the name of some other person, creating confusion among the candidates.”