Cong expels Jagmeet Brar, he announces rally on May 21

Tuesday, 12/04/2016

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PATIALA: The Cong ress on Monday expelled senior leader Jagmeet Singh Brar — a detractor of its Punjab unit president Captain Amarinder Singh and an admirer of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — three days after it kicked out Bir Devinder Singh, former deputy speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Brar hit back with the announcement of a rally at Chappar Chiri near SAS Nagar (Mohali) on May 21.

He lost primary membership of the Congress for “indiscipline and working against the party’s interest in Punjab” that goes to polls in less than a year. Amarinder had to go via the high command to get him expelled, since a state unit president can’t expel an All-India Congress Committee (AICC) member.

Brar reacted strongly: “Amarinder wants everyone to polish his shoes like the other sycophants but I have my own standing in the state. He is a bulldozer razing his own people.”

But the two evictions will help Amarinder regain his grip on the party after the high command had turned down his Rajya Sabha nominees in favour of former state party presidents Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo, who are considered his bitter rivals. “Everyone in the Congress is heaving a sigh of relief. Both Bir Devinder and Brar were damaging the party and taking it too far,” said Captain.

Brar and Bir Devinder share the All- India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF) background, a talent for oratory, and now the same fate for their outbursts against Amarinder and the party over the past few days. “I have been condemned without hearing,” Brar said, echoing his posts on Twitter through the day, adding: “There is no point now in meeting party president Sonia Gandhi and Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi.”

This is not the first time Brar has faced party action. In 2014, he was suspended for daring to suggest introspection of the Lok Sabha election defeat and advise Sonia and Rahul to go on a sabbatical. In August 2015, Sonia Gandhi revoked his suspension. Brar claims he didn’t get any notice from the party, but Congress general secretary and Punjab affairs in-charge Shakeel Ahmad said: “Brar was issued a show-cause notice on March 29 and he sent us three replies on March 30.”

“Even after messaging ‘ uttered not a single word today ’, you kept tweeting comments against the party,” reads the expulsion order from Ahmad. Brar, who condemned Bir Devinder’s expulsion as Amarinder’s revenge, said he had received the letter “only just” and asked his supporters from 60 assembly seats to gather at Chappar Chiri. Asked if he would join the AAP, he said: “So far, I am not in touch with any party. I praised the AAP becasue I saw it taking up issues concerning Punjabis, and that has not gone well with the Congress. Rest, wait for May 21.”

3 MEETINGS WITH KISHOR LAST WEEK
Before being shunted out, Jagmeet Brar claimed, he had three meetings with Congress poll strategist Prashant Kishor in Delhi last week.