The simmering discontent among Congress workers in Chhattisgarh has once again burst into the open after the party’s poor performance in the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
During a meeting of the Dhamtari District Congress Committee, party workers voiced their anger directly in front of PCC Chief Deepak Baij.
Expressing their frustration with the state leadership, they claimed that despite the Congress being in power for the last five years, their efforts went unrecognized, in stark contrast to their struggles during 15 years of opposition.
Chhattisgarh Congress president Deepak Baij was in Dhamtari on Friday to review preparations for the upcoming municipal elections. The meeting, which was intended to strategize for the upcoming elections, took a dramatic turn as soon as Baij arrived, with disgruntled party workers venting their long-held grievances.
When Baij attempted to calm the agitated workers, urging them to sit quietly, it only fueled their anger further. “Why should we sit quietly after being ignored for five years?” one of the workers retorted, criticizing the leadership for neglecting their contributions.
The workers lamented, “In these five years, which workers have been acknowledged, Mr. Baij? Nothing has happened while we were in power.
For 15 years, we bore the brunt, facing batons, and yet we were continuously humiliated. These five years have seen the Congress being decimated. We have been loyal to the party for 40 years.”
Despite Baij’s numerous attempts to pacify the workers, the commotion did not subside. Finally, he assured them of a separate meeting to address their concerns. “Please calm down, I will meet with you personally to hear your issues,” he announced from the stage, which finally appeased the crowd.
In response to the incident, BJP State Media In-charge Amit Chimnani posted a video of the chaos on social media, mocking the Congress party.
“Why did Congress workers have to express their grievances in such an agitated manner? Previously, some Congress workers who voiced their concerns were labeled as sleeper cell agents by the former Chief Minister. Let’s see what labels these workers get now in this undemocratic Congress,” his post read.
This episode recalls a similar outburst during the Lok Sabha elections in Rajnandgaon, where a party worker criticized the previous Congress government in front of then Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
The former district panchayat member had lamented the lack of access to the Chief Minister during Congress government and the disregard for workers’ contributions.
Now, it seems, those old wounds have been reopened as Congress gears up for another electoral challenge in the upcoming local bodies elections in Chhattisgarh.