Jammu, Dec 10 (IANS) On Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s birthday, Jammu and Kashmir’s Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma roughed up a party worker who pointed out that the ministers were inaccessible to the party cadres.
According to party sources, this has left Congress workers angry with the minister and they have submitted a complaint to Sonia Gandhi, whose birthday was Wednesday.

Party sources said that Sharma lost his cool and thrashed Pawan Raina, who raised the issue of the ministers being “inaccessible” to the party workers whose support, he said was crucial in their election.

The incident took place at the PCC headquarters in Jammu.

Sharma, who is a loyalist of PCC chief Saif-ud-Din Soz, told the party leader Pawan Raina, a former youth Congress president of Jammu district, not to interrupt the speakers and level such wild allegations, but the worker said that he was just stating facts.

Raina told reporters that he was “just bringing to the notice of the ministers, as to how the party workers were feeling”.

He had asked that if Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi can take risks to meet the party workers in the remotest corners “what is stopping ministers from giving an audience to the party workers”.

“This infuriated Sham Lal Sharma,” who is a first-time minister and was seated along with Sports Minister R.S. Chib at the function, Raina said. “He thrashed me,” he added.

Sharma, despite repeated attempts to reach him, did not respond to phone calls.

But this has left party workers upset and they have sent a letter to Sonia Gandhi highlighting the “arrogance of the minister”.

Party sources said a report of what transpired has been sent to the Congress president.