Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SB)

Mangalore, Sep 13: Expelled Congress men, Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat (ZP) president K Santhosh Kumar Bhandary and Agriculture and Industries Standing Committee Sadanand Malli have urged the senior Congress leaders to remove B Ramanath Rai from the post of Congress district president.

Addressing presspersons at a joint press meet on Saturday September 12 Bhandary and Malli alleged that the downfall of Congress in the district is the result of factional activities by Rai and his supporters. Rai has created differences among party members by forming a separate faction within the Congress, which has resulted in Congress losing recent elections. Hence, we urge the senior Congress leaders to seriously consider his removal from the post of district president.

Bhandary and Rai further claimed that they were still Congress members as they have not received any notice intimating them of their expulsion. We have not indulged in any anti-party activities. We were not invited either to the meeting held to select candidates for ZP election or were given any invitation to attend observers’ meet, they alleged and denied allegations made by Congress office-bearers Ivan D’Souza and M G Hegde alleging that there was no truth in their allegations.

Malli added that in 43 years of his political career in Congress he was never indulged in anti-party activities. I am clarified myself to senior Congress leaders from the region such as B Janardan Poojary, M Veerappa Moily and Oscar Fernandes, he said.