Sunil Chadha
Dharamshala: A day after his son and former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Neeraj Bharti stirred political waters with a viral Facebook post suggesting his resignation, Himachal Pradesh Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Chander Kumar on Thursday (June 19, 2025) firmly denied any such move.
Addressing the media, Chander Kumar, a senior Congress leader and MLA from the constituency, said, “There is no question of resigning. The Congress has a mechanism for dialogue and internal matters will be resolved within that framework.”
While denying the speculation of quitting, the veteran leader did, however, stress the urgent need for reviving the organisational structure of the Himachal Pradesh Congress, which was disbanded in November 2024. “A functioning organisational setup is essential to address issues at the grassroots level. It needed even the more as elections to panchayati raj bodies are round the corner,” he said.
The controversy erupted after Neeraj Bharti, a former MLA from Jawali (2012-2017), made an explosive post on Facebook on Tuesday. In it, he claimed to have had a heated argument with his father over development-related matters in the constituency, accusing him of remaining silent while “dealers” allegedly facilitated the work of BJP supporters under a Congress government.
“If BJP workers are to be favoured even under a Congress government, then it’s better you resign from the ministerial post,” Neeraj claimed to have told his father, urging him to seek counsel from Congress workers in the constituency. “Now, he will speak to the Chief Minister tomorrow. If the interference of middlemen is stopped, good; otherwise, resignation will follow,” he wrote.
In a sharp jab at the BJP in another post later, Neeraj wrote, “The BJP leaders in Himachal are waiting for Congress defections like dogs waiting outside a meat shop,” punctuating his post with emojis and sarcasm that attracted both backlash and support online.
The post triggered a political storm in the state, going viral within hours and prompting reactions from both Congress and BJP camps. Opposition leaders called it evidence of deepening internal rifts within the ruling party, while Congress leaders tried to downplay it as a family-level disagreement.
Later, Neeraj later posted an update, stating that his father had received certain assurances and would be meeting Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to resolve the matter.
