As a self-respecting person, I have no choice - Congress leader Anand Sharma resigned

In a big setback to the grand old party Congress’s senior leader Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned from the chairmanship of the party’s steering committee for the Himachal Pradesh state, ahead of state assembly elections.

He later tweeted that he resigned he said, “as a self-respecting person- I was left with no choice”. The former union minister and deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha was appointed as chairman of the Steering Committee in Himachal Pradesh on April 26.

Anand Sharma tweeted saying, "I have resigned with a heavy heart from the Chairmanship of the Steering Committee of the Congress for the Himachal Elections. Reiterating that I am a lifelong congressman and remain firm on my convictions."

“Committed to Congress ideology that runs in my blood, let there be no doubts about this! However, given the continuing exclusion and insults, as a self-respecting person- I was left with no choice,” he further tweeted.

Sharma’s resignation comes soon after another leader of the G23 grouping — a faction of senior party leaders who have been pressing for collective leadership in the party — Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned as chairman of the campaign committee in Jammu and Kashmir a few days ago

Both Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma are prominent leaders of the G23 faction which has been critical of the decisions of the party leadership. The grouping, comprising prominent veterans including Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Manish Tewari, has been insisting on genuine elections right from the block up to the CWC level.