Shimla: In a fresh setback for the Himachal Pradesh Congress, state vice president and former MLA Neeraj Bharti resigned from his party post on Thursday, bringing internal differences within the state unit into the open.
Bharti submitted his resignation with immediate effect to Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Vinay Kumar and Kangra District Congress Committee president Anurag Sharma. The move came just hours after he was issued a show-cause notice over alleged indiscipline.
The controversy stems from a complaint by the Kangra District Congress Committee, which accused Bharti of repeatedly posting content on social media and making public statements that allegedly harmed the interests of the Congress government, the party organisation and its image in the state.
According to the notice, any disagreement or concerns regarding government policies and decisions should have been raised through internal party mechanisms instead of being aired publicly.
Bharti reacted sharply to the disciplinary action and expressed his displeasure through social media posts. Without directly naming party leaders, he questioned the relevance of discipline when the voices of committed party workers are allegedly ignored and their contributions remain unacknowledged.
His resignation has once again highlighted signs of unrest within the Himachal Pradesh Congress, where differences between leaders and the party leadership have surfaced on several occasions in recent months.
While Bharti has resigned from the organisational post of state vice president, there has been no indication so far that he plans to quit the Congress party itself.
The Congress leadership has not yet issued a detailed response to Bharti’s resignation, but the development is expected to trigger political discussions within the state unit, particularly in the politically significant Kangra region.
