In a new development amid his growing standoff with the Congress leadership in Himachal Pradesh, former Congress MLA Neeraj Bharti’s Facebook account has been blocked, a day after he resigned from the post of Vice-Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC).
The HPCC on Friday accepted the resignation of former chief parliamentary secretary Neeraj Bharti from the post of vice president of the state party unit.
This development comes against the backdrop of Bharti’s increasingly harsh criticism of both the state government and the party organisation.
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Bharti posted a series of comments on social media targeting the Congress leadership and raising several allegations about the working of the government and the party.
Bharti, the son of Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar and a former MLA from Jawali Assembly constituency, had resigned from the post of party vice president in the state amid reports of differences with the Congress leadership.
In his resignation letter addressed to Pradesh Congress Committee president Vinay Kumar and district party leaders on Friday, Bharti expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
“I feel dissatisfied with the working style and administrative performance of the present state government under the leadership of the Prime Minister,” Bharti said in the two-page Hindi letter which he also shared on his Facebook account.
His resignation came after disciplinary measures taken against him recently by the party. The Congress had earlier expelled senior leader and former foreign minister Neeraj Bharti from key organizational responsibilities following repeated controversies over his public statements and social media posts, which the party considered detrimental to its image and internal discipline.
The blocking of Bharti’s Facebook account has sparked political debates, especially as it comes at a time when he has been openly critical of the Sukho government and the Congress organisation. It is still unclear whether the account was blocked by the platform after complaints, due to policy violations, or for any other technical reasons.
More details are awaited.
Earlier on Thursday, Kangra District Congress Committee president Anurag Sharma issued a show-cause notice to Bharti, accusing him of indiscipline and seeking an explanation for his public criticism of the party and the state government on social media platforms.
The notice directed Bharti to submit his response within ten days, failing which disciplinary action could be taken against him.
