Muristek
Congress panel recommends 2-year suspension for Sunil Jakhar; Sonia Gandhi to take final call
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, April 26
The disciplinary committee of the Congress on Tuesday met and recommended a suspension of two years for former Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar and removal from all party posts for anti-party activities.
It also recommended removal of former union food minister KV Thomas from all party posts.
It recommended that the five Meghalaya MLAs supporting the BJP be suspended for two years.
The final call on the panel's recommendations will be taken by party chief Sonia Gandhi.
The panel headed by former defence minister AK Antony has sent its recommendations to Gandhi.
Also read: Sunil Jakhar takes jibe at Congress leadership, says those with conscience will be punished
Jakhar is facing disciplinary action for failing to reply to the January 11 showcause notice served on him by the Antony-led committee.
The panel had given Jakhar a week's time to respond.
The committee had earlier served showcause notices on Jakhar and Thomas. Thomas had responded, but the reply was not found satisfactory, panel member Tariq Anwar said.
"We had served showcause notices on both the leaders and sought a reply within a week, but we never received Sunil Jakhar's reply. The disciplinary committee met and recommended a two-year suspension for the two leaders," Anwar said.
Jakhar for his part said the committee was free to take any action it deemed fit.
Jakhar was in the dock for his remarks on the Punjab election eve that "he got the maximum 42 MLA votes in the race for Punjab chief minister-ship after Amarinder Singh was removed, Sukhjinder Randhawa got 16, Charanjit Singh Channi, the Congress' pick for the post two votes, Navjot Sidhu six and Preneet Kaur 12."
After the Congress's poll debacle in Punjab, Jakhar also went on to describe then CM Channi as a liability for the Congress in Punjab.
KV Thomas was showcaused for attending a conference called by the CPM, Congress's principal rival in Kerala, despite party chief Sonia Gandhi instructing state leaders not to go against the state unit line on the matter. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who also had the invite to the same event on April 9, dropped out after Sonia's nudge, but Thomas went ahead.
Congress disciplinary panel recommendations
*For Sunil Jakhar: Suspension for two years and removal from all party posts.
*KV Thomas: Removal from all party posts.
*Five Meghalaya MLAs supporting BJP: Suspension for two years.