The five-member committee is headed by senior party leader AK Antony and Tuesday’s meeting was attended by Antony besides panel members Tariq Anwar, JP Agarwal and G Parameshwara.
The Congress Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday recommended suspension of its former Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar for two years and removal of Kerala leader KV Thomas from all party posts for anti-party activities, sources said. The panel has also recommended the removal of Jakhar from all party posts.
The Congress Disciplinary Committee, which met here this morning, also recommended the suspension of five party MLAs in Meghalaya who had supported the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) in defiance of the party’s directives. Sources said the committee has given its recommendations to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who will soon take necessary action.
The five-member committee is headed by senior party leader AK Antony and Tuesday’s meeting was attended by Antony besides panel members Tariq Anwar, JP Agarwal and G Parameshwara. Ambika Soni was not present during the meeting. Immediately following the recommendations of the Congress Disciplinary Committee, Jakhar wished “good luck” to his party, while refusing to reveal his plans.
When reporters sought their response on the panel’s recommendation, Jakhar said, “I wish the Congress all the best.” When asked what his next step would be, he declined to comment. Before the meeting of the Congress Disciplinary Committee, Jakhar had said that those who still have discretion will be punished. In a tweet, Jakhar said, “Today, Sir Kalam will be the one who still has conscience left.
Jakhar had criticized former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him a liability to the party after the Congress lost to AAP in the state. He has also been critical of the party leadership for the assembly elections, which the Congress lost to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Thomas, a former Union minister and senior leader from Kerala, had attended a seminar organized by the CPI(M) on April 9 against the party’s wishes in the state and local leaders of the state were demanding action against him.
Sources said that five Congress MLAs in Meghalaya had joined the BJP-backed ruling coalition in the state, for which they were sent show cause notices and an explanation was sought from them. He said the state unit of Congress had also demanded strict action against the MLAs who supported the BJP government in the state. The MLAs had joined the MDA in February, which brought together the two arch-enemies in the ruling coalition and angered Congress leaders.
The disciplinary panel had issued show cause notices to Jakhar, Thomas and the five MLAs and asked them to explain why action should not be initiated against them for their actions. While Thomas had explained, Jakhar preferred not to respond to the show-cause notice of the panel.
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