President Himachal Pradesh Congress

Dear Sukhvinder ji.

Thanks for your message about holding Intellectual department of Pradesh Congress meeting and your efforts to diagnose the massive and historical failure in Himachal to lose all seats in Parliamentary elections. We cannot take shelter behind the central leadership as all over the performance is bad but we had the government in power that won election a year back  and a high confidence that claimed from house top that we shall win all seats. How the leaders failed to notice Modi wave and failed to counter it with good governance rather than indulging in nepotism and favoritism leading to public discontent especially with the hope of good governance by Modi sarkar.

Vichar Vibhag first time started a Website that was opened by you. We had ten meeting in Dharmshala,Mandi, Joginder Nagar.Nahan , Solan and Shimla. We constituted the organization in all districts as none was in existence earlier. We planned to hold seminars on Roads , Health and education and also started a survey of blocks and working of grass root organization as was known to you. This was to counter the good governess blitzkrieg from Modi that had to be met with equal good governance in which we failed, even to hand down some work done  and as no one took interest and we had to go dormant.

 I regret to say that the Government and its head our Chief Minister never cared to consult us or even to acknowledge that there is any such wing of the party. He never met us when he had meetings with all other departments and organizations. In fact the indifference to intellectual input or wide consultation within party, the government displayed high arrogance and know all style. Even the leaders became in accessable after election and their cell phones are found by the workers only switched off. All tickets in the constituency were allotted to favorites or relations with clear policy of creating a party within party. Government ruled with arrogance and nepotism.

My personal loyalty to almost dozen of former Central Ministers and respect for Gandhi Nehru tradition only kept a weak link as there was totalitarian one man rule in Himachal.

I had personal experience in central government at top during the Prime Ministership of Rajiv Gandhi  and with UN as expert,and was available to the state to render badly needed help for aviation and airport development but no one bothered except Madam Vidya Stokes who once asked me to help the state but later could not proceed further. Vichar Vibhag time and again tried to stress that grass root is not functioning and we need to pay all out attention to it that needed complete cooperation of Government with the party as inter group problems were too many and CM never bothered to resolve them except to enhance his own tribe’s interests. It functioned as personal party of CM and not Congress party. Our Survey reveals that 50-60% opinion leaders believe that block and booth is getting day by day weakened and groupism is gaining ground.

Considering this we remained silent spectators although a lot of help and support could be garnered but no word of encouragement or advice was available nor there was any interactive and free discussion. The prevailing impression was that one man can do magic but ground situation was completely different that was not known to higher up in absence of free and frank talk and mutual help.

Now since you have reminded we will hold the meeting soon in Shimla. I will again plead that party must bring radical changes in Government and local units of party to regain the strength as we have still time to recover.

With best wishes and regards

Prof N.K.Singh

Former Chairman International Airports Authority and ExUN Adviser

Chairman Pradesh Vichar Vibhag

Pradesh Congress committee

Rajiv Bhavan Shimla

6/6/2014

Copy for information and action to –Smt Sonia Gandhi