District Congress likely to corner Mohindra supporters

CHANDIGARH, January 18: Even as there is a lull in the war of attrition between supporters of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ama...

CHANDIGARH, January 18: Even as there is a lull in the war of attrition between supporters of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amarinder Singh and the followers of former minister and senior Congress leader Brahm Mohindra, the Patiala District Congress Committee is believed to have decided to crack the whip against certain supporters of the latter.

Authoritative sources in the Congress told The Indian Express here today that the Patiala District Congress Committee (Urban) was meeting here tomorrow under the presidentship of Ved Parkash Gupta, DCC chief, and discuss the issue of certain Congress leaders of Patiala having issued a statement in favour of Brahm Mohindra and against the PPCC chief.

The DCC meeting is likely to recommend expulsion of these leaders from the primary membership of the party or set up a disciplinary action panel and refer their case to this panel for consideration, these sources said.

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The charge against these leaders is that they had issued a press statement, describing themselves as office bearers of the district Congress. Close on the heels of their press statement, the DCC chief issued a clarification that they held no office in the DCC and that they were just primary members of the Congress. The DCC chief also warned partymen that if at all they are to report something against the working of some one of their party colleague, they should approach the PPCC or the AICC president and refrain from going to media. The directive warned the erring members of the party of strict disciplinary action restating that no indiscipline would be brooked.

DCC president Ved Parkash Gupta, when contacted by the Indian Express, refused to comment on the issue of disciplinary action being planned against certain senior partymen.

Five leaders of Patiala Congress including Raj Kumar Malhotra, Hardeep Singh Deepa, Bhupinder Bhupi, Sant Lal Banga and Mahesh Malhotra had described themselves as office bearers of the DCC in their press statement issued in support of Brahm Mohindra.

The Patiala DCC (Urban) has about 60 office bearers. In addition to an equal number of members of the executive, the DCC was reconstituted in the first week of December on the recommendations of Iqbal Singh, former MP and general secretary of the PPCC incharge of Patiala district.

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The press interview given by former Minister Brahm Mohindra, questioning the PPCC decision to organise a March in connection with the celebrations of the tercentenary of the Khalsa Panth had created a flutter in the party with a majority of the Congress leaders demanding strict disciplinary action against Brahm Mohindra.

The PPCC has already constituted a disciplinary action committee under the chairmanship of former Finance Minister Kewal Krishan and it has submitted its report to the PPCC chief who is expected to forward it to the party high command.