Bihar Congress leaders demand removal of AICC in-charge Allavaru, accuses him of being 'RSS agent'

Several leaders of the Bihar Congress on Thursday staged a protest at the BPCC headquarters in Patna, demanding the removal of AICC in-charge Krishna Allavaru, accusing him of being a corporate agent and sleeper cell of the RSS. The protesters, who carried placards with the slogan 'ticket chor, Bihar chhod' (ticket thief, flee from Bihar), said they were staging the dharna as there was no other way for their voice to reach the Congress's senior leadership due to the absence of any grievance redressal mechanism within the party. We want our voice to reach Rahul Gandhi. There is no forum in the party for the redressal of grievances. So, we are talking to the press, said senior leader Anand Madhab, who had last week raised a banner of revolt at a press conference. Madhab demanded the immediate removal of Allavaru from party's leadership, alleging that he messed up Congress's prospects in the Bihar assembly polls. Krishna Allavaru has messed up the party's prospects in Bihar assembly polls, laying to waste the momentum that had been built through Rahul Gandhi's fortnight-long Voter Adhikar Yatra. We are demanding his immediate removal so that some damage control could be attempted, he said. Tensions have been simmering within the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) as several Congress candidates face off against its allies, including the RJD. While the partners have called them friendly fights, speculation over poor coordination and the alliances failure to finalise a formal seat-sharing pact is rife. Some Congress members have accused Allavaru of worsening the conflicts. Lamenting that the current situation would not have happened if the AICC in charge were a political person instead of Allavaru, Madhab suspected that he could be an RSS agent. Had the AICC in charge been a political person, like, say, Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Singh Baghel or Randeep Surjewala, things would not have come to this pass. But Allavaru is not a political person. We suspect he is a corporate agenda... may be even a sleeper cell of the RSS who has been planted by forces from outside the party, he alleged. Because of Allavaru's mismanagement, there has been so much of confusion, he alleged. Now, for example, Tejashwi Yadav's chief ministerial candidature was announced today. Could it have not taken place a few weeks earlier? asked Madhab, apparently hinting to speculations that the AICC Bihar in-charge had persuaded the party's top leadership to dither on the issue. When it was pointed out that Allavaru was known to be a trusted aide of Gandhi, he said, If we lease our house to somebody on rent, only to realise later that he is a shady character, we cannot allow him to continue but must evict him. We have two clear demands. Allavaru should be replaced immediately with a political person. And there should be a working president to manage the party affairs. Our state president Rajesh Ram, who has already expressed his helplessness before Allavaru, is also busy managing his own prospects from Kutumba seat. Similarly, CLP leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan is contesting from Kadwa. Our best wishes to both of them. But we must have a working president who can fully devote himself to the party's matters, he said. Madhab denied that the rebellion was caused by denial of tickets to him and other leaders who were joining the protest. If that were true, why would we have been raising our voice now? Nomination papers have already been filed and no amount of pressure tactics can help us get tickets. We want to save the Congress from destruction in Bihar, he asserted. Bihar polls: Tejashwi Yadav named Opposition's CM face; Mukesh Sahani is Deputy CM pick