Punjab Congress expels 7 rebels

 Punjab Congress expels 7 rebels after they fail to withdraw from poll race

Sky Hawk Times

Chandigarh, January 25

Seven rebel candidates were on Wednesday permanently expelled from the party after they refused to withdraw from the poll race even after the final warning from Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder.

A Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) office order said they had been “expelled permanently from the primary membership of the party for anti-party activities with immediate effect.”

Those expelled are Ashok Sharma, Gurbinder Singh Atwal, Jagmeet Singh Sahota, Hemraj Aggarwal, Manjit Singh Mann, Amarjit Singh Gharu and Rajinder Deepa.

Earlier on Sunday Captain Amarinder Singh had issued a final ultimatum to the rebel candidates who continued to defy the party diktat to withdraw their candidature or retire from the poll fray. The rebels were given time till 5 p.m. on Tuesday to step down in favour of the Congress candidates in their respective constituencies.

While several rebel candidates had earlier been persuaded by the party leadership to take back their nominations before the last date given by the Election Commission, a handful of them remain defiant and did not withdraw their papers. They were on Sunday given another 48 hours to leave the race official Congress candidates. However, these seven party members failed to toe the party line within the deadline.

Captain Amarinder said it was important to send out a strong message that the party would not tolerate such rebellion and those going against the high command’s decision would have to pay for it. He made it clear that the expulsion of these seven members was permanent and they would not be taken back into the party under any circumstances.

He reiterated that the candidates selected for tickets by the party leadership were chosen for their winnability and those who had withdrawn in favour of the officially nominated candidates would be accommodated in key positions once the Congress forms the government in the state.