Woman politician dumps husband

Party comes first

So peeved was Poonam Kangra, president of the Sangrur district youth Congress with her municipal-councillor husband’s “anti-party” stance in opposing the party’s municipal council president that she applied for divorce in the court. Her petition for divorce from her husband, Darshan Singh, alleges cruelty as the grounds for divorce stemming from Darshan’s anti-party stance.

Defending her decision to seek divorce from her husband, Poonam says, “I cannot stay with a person who does not respect the party.”

Singh, who was elected councillor on a Congress ticket, had supported a no-confidence motion brought about by the opposition Akali-BJP combine against his party colleague, Harbans Lal, who is president of the Sangrur municipal council. Lal had to go after the no-confidence motion was carried against him.

Congress leaders and activists of the area had charged Darshan Singh of indulging in anti-party activities. He was later expelled from the party.

Poonam, who was elected president of the district youth Congress some months ago, said she had been persuading her husband to apologise to the party leadership for his anti-party move but he had refused to do so. Ironically, Poonam herself faces with a rebellion with several block Congress chiefs demanding her resignation after her husband’s action.

Her husband Darshan Singh, however, remains non-committal about her wife’s step in initiating divorce proceedings. “I cannot comment at the moment. It is her decision,” he says. However, he justified his rebellion saying interests of his electorate were more important to him than party affiliations.

Many Congress leaders of Sangrur dub Poonam’s step as a “publicity stunt” and “political drama”. For the time being, the couple continues to stay under one roof.