DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday expelled Roorkee mayor Gaurav Goel from the saffron fold for six years due to his "anti-party activities".
Manveer Singh Chauhan, BJP's state media in-charge said, "Gaurav Goel has been expelled from the party on the directions of state president Madan Kaushik. He was found indulging in anti-party activities." Goel was continuously at loggerheads with BJP's councillors in the Roorkee Municipal Corporation and was making statements against the party line, said Chauhan.
In August 2021, Goel was given a show-cause notice by the party following his public spat with the councillors. In January this year, a case was registered against Goel at Roorkee Civil Lines police station for allegedly demanding Rs 25 lakh bribe in return for extending the lease of a property. Last month, voice samples sent to the forensic lab in connection with the graft case were found "optimally similar to Goel's voice in linguistic and phonetic features".
