Ex-Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar and Kerala leader K V Thomas have been removed from all party positions, sources say, and five of its Meghalaya MPs have been suspended for anti-party activities. The decision was made on Tuesday.
The Congress Disciplinary Committee said that Jakhar should be punished. At first, they wanted to suspend him for two years, but they changed their minds because of how important he was at the party.
READ MORE: PM Modi met with Chief Ministers today to review the Covid report
The panel, which met this morning, said that the five Congress MLAs in Meghalaya should be suspended for supporting the state’s ruling party, the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA). This is against the party’s rules.
Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress, has agreed with the recommendations of the disciplinary panel. Sonia Gandhi had been sent a letter by Vincent Pala, the head of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee, about the actions of five MLAs supporting the BJP-backed government in the state at the time.
MLAs Amrareen Lyngdoh, P T Sawkimie, Kimfa Marbaniang, Mayralborn Syiem, Mohendro Rapsang, and Kimfa Marbaniang will be suspended for three years from the date this meeting took place, sources say.
They decided to get rid of Thomas from the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s political affairs group and its executive board because he was not a good representative of his party in the state.
People at the meeting talked about and agreed to get rid of Jakhar from all of the party’s jobs, sources say,
The sources said that the panel had decided to suspend him for two years and remove him from all party positions. Later, they changed their minds and dropped the suspension.
Another group of people, however, said that they were worried about putting Jakhar on suspension because other Congress leaders had also made accusations during the election.
Sources say it would have made it easier for Rahul Gandhi to leave the party if Jakhar had been suspended. The party doesn’t want its leaders to leave at this time, they say.
“Jakhar and Thomas will stay in the party. The committee has decided not to punish them because of their age and contributions to the party “There was a member of the panel named Tariq Anwar who said that.
The five-person committee is led by a senior party member, A K Antony, and Antony attended the meeting on Tuesday. Anwar, J P Aggarwal, and G Parameswar were also there. Absent: Ambika Soni was not at the meeting, so we didn’t discuss it. Soon after the Congress disciplinary panel’s recommendations, Jakhar wished his party “good luck.” He didn’t say what he was going to do.
Asked what he thought of the panel’s recommendation, he said, “I hope the Congress has a lot of fun.” When asked what he would do next, he didn’t say anything.
Jakhar said those who still have a conscience would be punished ahead of the meeting.
“When I look at them now, they have already been given the money. The ones who have a conscience will be killed today. Javed Akhtar Saheb, I’m sorry “The tweet was from Jakhar.
Jakhar had said that former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi was wrong for the party after Congress lost the state to the AAP. He called him a bad thing for the party. He has also criticized the party leader in the run-up to the assembly elections in Punjab, which he lost (AAP).
Thomas, a former Union minister and senior leader from Kerala, went to a CPI(M) seminar in the state on April 9, even though the party didn’t want him to. Local state leaders have been asking for him to be punished.
Sources say that members of Congress in Meghalaya have joined with the BJP-backed government. A show-cause notice was sent to them, and they were asked to explain why they joined the government.
They said that the state branch of Congress had also called for strict action against the MLAs who voted for a BJP government in their state. In February, they joined the MDA, which brought the two long-time enemies together in a ruling coalition and made Congress angry.
Show-cause notices were sent to Jakhar, Thomas, and the five MLAs. They were asked to explain why they should not be punished for their actions. While Thomas had explained, Jakhar didn’t want to answer the panel’s show-cause notice.
