Days after being appointed general secretary incharge of poll-bound Punjab, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Wednesday wrote to party President Sonia Gandhi requesting her to relieve him of the assignment.
In his two-page letter, he said that he had been hurt over the developments of the past few days during which "an unnecessary controversy has been created around the tragic 1984 riots in New Delhi".
Noting the Nanavati Commission set up by the NDA government had fully absolved him of any charges after proper investigation, he said that "certain elements" were raking these issues only for "political gains" and the maligning of the Congress using "false accusations" was unacceptable to him.
"I may be relieved of my charge to ensure that the attention is not diverted from real issues facing Punjab," he said.
Kamal Nath was also given charge of Haryana.
