Ashok Tanwar resigns from all party positions in protest over Haryana ticket distribution

New Delhi: Unhappy over ticket distribution for Haryana assembly elections, former state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar resigned from all assigned responsibilities and committees here on Thursday and said he will work as a primary member to strengthen the party.

Tanwar, who was replaced as state party chief last month, slammed the manner in which tickets had been distributed and said those who had given their "sweat and blood" for the party were ignored while those who had "weakened" it had been rewarded.

"Few with vested interests cannot tolerate the emergence of new leadership in Haryana. I have written a letter to interim party president Sonia Gandhi asking her to relieve me of all responsibilities and from the committees in which I have been assigned responsibilities. I will work for strengthening the party as its primary member," Tanwar told the media here.

He said if the ruling BJP can deny tickets to 8-9 sitting MLAs and two ministers then why Congress is giving the ticket to those who have worked for weakening the party.

"No criteria or parameter is followed while distributing ticket. There are internal forces within the party that are hell-bent on stopping the grass-root leaders from emerging," he said.

On Wednesday scores of Congress workers staged a protest outside the residence of Sonia Gandhi over the manner in which tickets had been distributed. They also raised slogans against Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is party in-charge of Haryana.

Tanwar had said on Wednesday that the leadership had given tickets to the people who recently joined the party while ignoring those who had worked hard for years

Haryana will go to polls on October 21. The results will be declared on October 24.