Overseas supporters of the Indian National Congress Party are in disarray mirroring some of the problems of the once Grand Old Party of India. Like the INC which is scrambling to revive its identity after an ignominious defeat at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party last May, the Indian National Overseas Congress (I) USA is embroiled in infighting and is split in two.
Each INOC (I) USA claims legitimacy and is accusing the other of dirty tricks. One side touts its status as an entity independent from the party in Delhi; the other does the opposite, claiming its legitimacy through its close connections to Delhi. The one that claims it is not ruled by New Delhi’s diktat is led by Chairman George Abraham, a co-founder of the original INOC (I) USA, and President Juned Qazi; the breakaway group which claims to be the genuine one, is led by Shudh Prakash Singh. Qazi replaced Shudh Prakash Singh as president of the original INOC (I) USA in June 2014 after a no-confidence motion was passed against Singh, which led to the formation of the breakaway faction, which nevertheless claims it is a metamorphosis of the original.
Formed in 1998, INOC (I) USA underwent a reorganization in 2012, when George Abraham was made Chairman and Shudh Prakash Singh became President. In mid-2014, however, Shudh Prakash Singh was thrown out following a no-confidence motion passed by a majority of the Executive Council. He formed his own INOC (I) group and says it is the original one and the only one sanctioned by New Delhi.
In the latest development in the ongoing war, on Feb. 7, Shudh Prakash Singh stepped down from leadership of the breakaway INOC (I) USA and was replaced by President Lavika Bhagat Singh.
In interviews with News India Times, each side defended its position making accusations and counter accusations. The INOC led by Abraham and Qazi provided documents to News India Times which show Singh was ousted in a no-confidence motion in April 2014; Shudh Prakash Singh brandishes letters from Karan Singh that he claims sanction the organization led by him.
Efforts to reconcile have in fact been given up by both sides as they move along their own trajectories. Both Abraham and Shudh Prakash Singh say the other organization will die a natural death. After all, there have been and still are, several avatars of INOC over the years that have melted away into the ether.
The most recent development is the Feb. 7 installation of Lavika Bhagat Singh as president of the Shudh Prakash Singh faction. He told News India Times an election was held where 85 of the “newly-enrolled” members voted Lavika Bhagat Singh into office. A press release from this wing of INOC declared the election as historic in putting a woman at the helm.
Abraham and Qazi call the election a sham. And a release from Qazi says it was a mimicked election by a “struggling few of the chipped away members that had been discredited and discarded by the main Indian National Overseas Congress (I) USA.”
Abraham told News India Times Karan Singh’s interventions in the form of letters and speeches given during his visits to the U.S., had muddied the waters and created problems. In fact, Abraham has been critical of New Delhi for some time now. In a letter to Karan Singh dated April 4, 2014, Abraham frankly says, “It is quite sad to see that your office has been blindsided to the real developments in the organization and disregarded the sentiments or opinions of the majority of the members…” The letter as well as the attached documentation show that a majority of the Executive Council of the Abraham-led INOC (I) USA had passed a “No Confidence” motion against Shudh Prakash Singh effective April 1, 2014. The group elected Juned Qazi to replace him and Qazi was endorsed by the 70 representatives who came to New York/New Jersey on June 17, 2014.
Shudh Prakash Singh told News India Times a different story – that had decided in January 2014 to step down as president at the end of the year; that Abraham and Qazi had marshalled a few members behind them to oust him with the no-confidence motion; that Qazi appointed himself president in what was a “fake” election; and that Abraham and Qazi “went to India and tried to get support from … Congress leaders who said they could do nothing.”
Abraham told News India Times he had never met any Congress leaders in India on any of his trips to the home country. He also accuses Shudh Prakash Singh of not submitting any accounts for the organization when he was president.
The fate of this organization like that of the proliferating Indian-American groups formed over the last 40 years, has been the desire for leadership and as Abraham and Singh claim, egos overruling the interests of the organization. Today as the Congress Party in India is at its lowest ebb, Abraham says it is sad to see overseas supporters torn apart. “The position in the U.S. has no power, no influence. Why is there this fighting?” he wonders.