CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar was on Monday issued a show-cause notice by the disciplinary committee of the party for making comments not in tune with the party's ethos. He has been asked to submit his reply to the notice in seven days.
Congress leader Tarikh Anwar, told mediapersons after the meeting, "We have analysed the statement and then issued a notice to Sunil Jakhar. If the reply is not found to be satisfactory then it will be considered what action has to be taken."
The disciplinary committee, in its meeting on Monday, discussed the case and decided to give Jakhar an opportunity to explain his actions by issuing a notice why action should not be taken as per the party's constitution. In his recent interviews, Jakhar had been making veiled attacks at former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and party veteran Ambika Soni.
Sources said the notice is based on party's incharge of Punjab affairs Harish Choudhary writing to the Congress president Sonia Gandhi that Jakhar had allegedly made derogatory statements against Congress leaders and also attributed motives to the leadership of thinking on communal lines, while deciding the CLP, Punjab. It was pointed out that this was in gross violation of the party's ethos and the letter was referred to the party's disciplinary committee for necessary action, added sources.
Jakhar was last week criticised by the opposition parties and also a section of Congress leaders including ex-MLA Raj Kumar Verka for his alleged "anti-Dalit" remarks. To clarify his position, Jakhar had issued a statement on Friday, alleging "propaganda" being launched against him by leaders of various political parties on the basis of an interview to a TV channel, adding that it was "completely unfair to blame him without ascertaining the facts".
Earlier, during the course of campaigning for the assembly elections, Jakhar's video on gone viral on February 3, wherein he claimed that after Captain Amarinder Singh stepped down as chief minister, 42 party leaders had backed him as the next CM and Channi, who eventually succeeded Amarinder, got only two votes in an internal survey. He had claimed that he was not considered for not being a Sikh, at the behest of some leaders in the party - not Sonia or Rahul. However, the statement did not go down well with some Congress leaders and they believe that it alienated a section of the Hindu vote bank.
