Congress advises party leaders not to lose nerves in defeat

With several Congress leaders in Uttarakhand attacking each other in public following the party's rout in Lok Sabha polls, state unit of the party on Monday asked them not to lose their nerves in defeat and practise restraint.

"We should not lose our nerves in defeat. We should accept the mandate of the people with dignity and abstain from issuing statements against each other," PCC disciplinary committee chief and spokesman Dhirendra Pratap said.

Pratap's appeal comes in the wake of Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat telling a local news channel recently that Satpal Maharaj's wife Amrita Rawat who is his ministerial colleague, did not campaign for him whole-heartedly in Pauri-Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency, where he lost to BJP heavyweight and former chief minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri with a comprehensive margin.

"We should not lose our cool in the face of defeat. There is the party platform to discuss and sort out every issue. Issuing irresponsible statements against each other in public must be avoided," Pratap said.

Amrita's husband Maharaj who was the sitting Congress MP from Pauri-Garhwal had defected to the BJP in March this year dealing a blow to his former party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.  The PCC spokesman also criticised the BJP for demanding chief minister Harish Rawat's resignation owning moral responsibility for the party's dismal poll showing in the hill state where it lost all the five Lok Sabha seats.

"It is not at all fair to demand the CM's resignation. He has done a wonderful job despite being in power for just a few months. Moreover, his chief ministership is not due to BJP's mercy," he said advising the party not to let its success get to its head.