Jakhar seeks expulsion of Bajwa, Dullo, says they crossed ‘lakshman rekha’

A day after Congress MPs Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo sought CBI, ED probes into illicit liquor trade in the state, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar demanded their immediate expulsion from the Congress for crossing the ‘lakshman rekha’ of party discipline.

Jakhar said he will write to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to seek “strict action” against the brazen indiscipline of the two Rajya Sabha MPs, who have attacked their own government. While extending his sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives in the horrific, he said such tragedies do not give license to any individual to indulge in indiscipline.

Bajwa and Dullo, both former presidents of Punjab Congress, had met Governor VP Singh Badnore and alleged “clear-cut failure” on the part of the state administration. Jakhar, in a detailed riposte, said it was time to stem the rot and save the Congress from the “petty machinations” of the likes of Bajwa and Dullo. “Ye jis thali mein khatey hain ussi mein chhed kartey hain (They are biting the hand that feeds them). They are only interesting in fulfilling their vested interest,” he said, describing their actions as a ‘copy-paste job’ of what happened in Rajasthan in January, in the wake of 107 infant deaths over which Sachin Pilot had flayed his own government.

Asserting that the actions of Bajwa and Dullo could not be tolerated any longer, the Punjab Congress chief said men like these, who did not have even the courage to face elections, were no asset to the party. Such back-stabbing members should be shown the door before they can cause any serious damage, he said, adding that “enough is enough now”.

Jakhar said Bajwa and Dullo had been engaging in such anti-party activities for quite some time by talking against their own party and targeting the Congress government in Punjab. He said their attacks had increased after Amarinder Singh announced his decision to contest the 2022 assembly elections. “Having probably seen the 2022 polls as their last chance to make it big in the corridors of power, the duo saw their hopes shattered and, out of sheer frustration, are knocking at all possible doors to sneak their way to the top echelons of power,” he said.

Complimenting Union home minister Amit Shah for his “uncanny ability” of gauging a person’s worth, Jakhar alleged that the centre scaled up the security of Bajwa from ‘Y’ to ‘Z’ category, giving him four extra security guards, while curtailing the security of top Congress leaders and won him over. “Bajwa and Dullo want to meet the Prime Minister and home minister. Why didn’t they meet them to demand funds for the state government for Covid-19,” he asked.

He said the two MPs were surviving politically only due to the largesse of the Congress high command, which had nominated them to the Rajya Sabha since they were scared of contesting the assembly or parliamentary elections.