Congress workers attacked each other with shoes during a scuffle at UPCC headquarters
“He left only after handing over charge,” Masood said. Mamta merely told them that we were also there to welcome the new president,” she said. However, following the intervention of Congress MP Imran Masood and incoming president Mona, Rai returned to the premises and formally handed over charge to his successor. Significantly, although Rai participated in the handover, he was conspicuously absent when Mona subsequently addressed her first press conference as UP Congress president. Asked about Rai’s departure, Masood maintained that the outgoing president had completed the formalities. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Mahila Congress vice-president Sheela Mishra offered a different account of the confrontation, claiming that women workers had gathered to welcome both the outgoing and incoming presidents. “We were standing there to welcome both leaders. Some young men started asking us to move aside.
The dispute began when Rai’s supporters asked people standing near the entrance to make way, saying the state president was arriving, according to party workers present at the venue. Chaudhary allegedly responded by asking, “Which president?”, provoking an argument between the two groups. The confrontation triggered a heated exchange and a scuffle in which shoes were allegedly used. The confrontation occurred shortly before newly appointed UP Congress president Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ arrived to formally assume charge.
LUCKNOW: Chaotic scenes unfolded at the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) headquarters on Sunday as supporters of outgoing state president Ajay Rai clashed with a group associated with Congress councillor Mamta Chaudhary over clearing a passage for him.