Chandigarh, Nov 2 (IANS) In a scathing indictment of the Congress leadership in Haryana, senior leader of the grand old party and six-time MLA Sampat Singh has announced his resignation from the Indian National Congress (INC), accusing the party of having become a “private enterprise run by one family” and alleging a “complete collapse of internal democracy and accountability.”

In a detailed letter addressed to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, the former Haryana Cabinet Minister and ex-Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly said he was left with “no faith in the party’s ability to represent the interests of the people of Haryana.”

Sampat Singh said he had formally sent his resignation to the party’s central leadership and copies to party MP Rahul Gandhi, other senior party leaders K.C. Venugopal, B.K. Hariprasad, and Haryana unit Congress chief Rao Narendra.

Tracing his long political journey, the veteran leader recalled joining the Congress in 2009 after decades in public life, including two terms as Cabinet Minister and one as Leader of Opposition.

He said that despite his proven electoral record — having been elected five times consecutively from Fatehabad before being shifted to Nalwa on Congress’s directions — he was denied ministerial or organisational responsibilities after the 2009 victory.

He said internal manipulation and factionalism within the party had weakened both him and the organisation.

He claimed that proximity to Kumari Selja and the developmental works sanctioned for his constituency became reasons for his isolation within the party.

Singh also said that successive elections in Haryana reflected the price Congress paid for sidelining loyal and capable leaders.

Citing examples, Sampat Singh pointed out that the state leadership had alienated stalwarts such as Kumari Selja, Kiran Choudhry, Shruti Choudhry, and Savitri Jindal, while giving preference to “dynastic politics and money power.”

He also criticised the 2020 Rajya Sabha nomination process, where “the leader’s son” was chosen over deserving candidates from the Scheduled Castes and backward classes.

Listing a series of prominent leaders who were “humiliated and forced to leave the party,” he mentioned several prominent names — many of whom later joined the BJP and rose to senior positions.

The former minister said that even Rahul Gandhi’s public admission after the 2024 Assembly defeat — that the state leadership had placed personal interest above the party — was followed by no course correction.

“There has been no accountability for electoral debacles or internal sabotage. Merit has been replaced by manipulation,” he said.

Calling the 2024 Assembly results a “case study in self-destruction,” he said that despite strong pre-poll projections, Congress failed because of arrogance and internal betrayal.

“The Dalit community, which had backed the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls, distanced itself after the alleged humiliation of Kumari Selja.”

“I remain committed to the people of Haryana, but I can no longer be part of a system that has lost its moral and political compass,” Sampat Singh’s letter concluded, asserting that his resignation was “a painful but necessary decision.”

–IANS

pgh/dan