The Indian National Overseas Congres (I) USA, led by Shudh Parkash Singh has elected new
officials with Washington, DC based Lavika
Bhagat Singh as president and Rajender Dichpally (New York) as general secretary.
Other officials are: Chakot Radhakrishnan (California- executive vice president); Ravi Chopra, Phuman Singh, Kalathil Varughese (national vice presidents); Kulwant Deol, Gurmeet
Singh Buttar (vice presidents); Gurminder Singh Talwandi (joint secretary); Vineet
Nagpal (treasurer); Rev Varghese
Abraham (joint treasurer)
Shalu Suri, Anand Nambiar, Deepak Bansal, Rajinder Singh, Yudh
Vir Singh, Budh Parkash Singh, Balbir
Singh, Amar Singh, Gurnam Singh, Davinder Singh Baidwan (executive committee
members)
Shudh Parkash Singh said the election was conducted with the
permission of Dr Karan Singh, chairman of the foreign affairs department of the
All India Congress Committee. He said he is glad that it was done transparently
and democratically.
Shudh will not hold any office. He said members wanted him
to take up some position in the executive or director board, but he refused. He
said he is not hungry for power or has any vested interests.
The voters were life members who took the membership paying
$250. Till the last minute people could take membership, which would have made
them eligible to vote. Shudh said he had asked every one associated with the
organization including, Juned Qazi,
president of the INOC USA, a dissident group, and George Abraham, chair of the
group to join the election process, but they refused it.
As a compromise, Shudh told them that Qazi could nominate
one election commissioner and he would nominate the other, but it was not
acceptable to them. Finally, Mohan Wanchoo and Shersingh Mathur were appointed
as election commissioners along with a local attorney in Long
Island. The whole lection process was video taped.
Though Qazi claims to be president of INOC, Delhi does not recognize him, Shudh said. He showed
a message from Karan Singh, dated January 27 this year, addressing Shudh as
president of the INOC (I) USA.
‘I have received your e-mails and am glad to know that the electoral process is
proceeding smoothly. I do hope that a large number of people will participate
because, quite clearly, this election will supersede the earlier ones. I hope
this will result in a united and coordinated organization so that it can be
better mobilized to meet the difficult challenges ahead,’ the letter said.
Shudh said he supported and respected former presidents Dr
Surindr Malhotra and George Abraham and worked with them creating no problem.
But when he became president, he did not get the support or cooperation he
deserved. Some even created a parallel organization, yet he said he worked as a
disciplined party worker.
Shudh said he joined INOC when AB Vajpayee, a very popular
prime minister, was ruling India.
He did not like many of the policies of the BJP especially the ideas against
diversity and communal harmony. What makes India
or the US
great is the diversity. Things have come to such a pass as President Barack Obama
himself had to speak about the secular credentials of India, a thing
never happened before.
In such a situation, it is sad that the Congress supporters
are fighting with each other in the US. It will only strengthen the BJP
and their supporters here. He also added that there are many good people in BJP
and Prime Minister Modi may be a good administrator, but the ideology of the
party is not acceptable.
Meanwhile, Juned Qazi, president of the INOC, USA issued a
press release terming the lection of the Shudh group as a farce.
‘In a desperate bid to gain some of the totally
dissipating attention and credence, the struggling few of the chipped away
members that had been discredited and discarded by the main Indian National
Overseas Congress(I)USA through a constitutional processes and through an
overwhelming majority vote of “no confidence†in mid-2014 continues in vain to
seek sympathy and support by staging recently an “election†amongst
themselves.
The fact however is that their reputation and
integrity for working as members of the INOC USA had been so badly tarnished by
their own self-inflicted misdeeds that their standing in the local community
had been affected very seriously and their bad and despicable acts or omissions
which had been strongly condemned and denounced are a public
knowledge. The All India Congress Committee in New Delhi was advised by the main body of the
removal of Shudh Prakash Singh.
Shamefully, Shudh Prakash Singh, who was expelled
from INOC(I)USA , has not
ceased to connive behind closed doors to sabotage the working of INOC(I)USA.
No matter how legitimate he may paint his sham election to
be, an election cannot make constitutional a body that which is
unconstitutional to begin with. No amount of water can bring to live
a dead tree.
It is necessary therefore that the community be aware of
these tactics and not to fall prey to deceptions and
misrepresentations. INOC(I)USA which has assumed a new name as
INOC USA, is headed by Chairman George Abraham, President Juned Qazi, Senior
Vice President Mohinder Singh Gilzian and Secretary General Harbachan Singh who
have been and continues to remain the legitimate organization representing the
rights and aspirations of the Congress party and its supporters. It has
embarked upon an extensive plan and strategy to invigorate the organization and
provide more effective service.
(Please see attached picture)
Juned Qazi, President, Indian National Overseas Congress, USA.
