With barely three months to go for the Assembly elections, the turf war within the Congress in Delhi is out in the open.
A section of Delhi Congress leaders on Friday, 11 October, demanded party in-charge PC Chacko's removal, accusing him of "leaking" a personal letter written by Sandeep Dikshit, son of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE LETTER
Sandeep Dikshit had written a letter to Chacko accusing him of being responsible for his mother’s sudden demise, sources told PTI. The letter was written soon after Sheila Dikshit's death on 20 July.
Sandeep Dikshit said that he was not associated with Delhi politics for the last five years and he had written a "personal" letter to Chacko.
"It's a personal letter to Chacko. If Chacko wants to leak it and talk about it, it is his prerogative," Sandeep Dikshit told media persons.
He refused to confirm the contents of the letter, saying "It is between me and Chacko".
WHY IS A SECTION OF CONGRESS ANGRY WITH CHACKO?
In a press conference, Congress leader Mangat Ram Singhal said, “The letter was leaked by Chacko who claimed that it was a political letter. He should resign or the party high command should sack him. We also demand the formation of a committee to probe his role as AICC in-charge of Delhi Congress.”
Singhal, Kiran Walia and Delhi Congress spokespersons Ramakant Goswami and Jitender Kochar also levelled allegations of corruption against Chacko and demanded that interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi form a committee to probe the matter.
HOW DID CHACKO RESPOND?
Denying the charges, Chacko said he received Sandeep Dikshit's letter two days ago and had forwarded it to the Congress president.
"What do I do with these wild allegations against me? I communicated the letter to Sonia ji for her information," he told PTI.
Chacko has already urged the party leadership to relieve him of his post, saying he wants to focus on his home state of Kerala.
Sheila Dikshit, who was Delhi Congress president during the last Lok Sabha polls, was in disagreement with Chacko over several party matters.
(With PTI inputs)
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