Ghulam Nabi Azad expels 3 senior leaders for anti-party activities

In a three-line statement issued by party general secretary Rajinder Singh Chib, the DAP said Azad has expelled Tara Chand, Manohar Lal and Balwan Singh.

The expulsion of three key leaders, barely three months after the DAP was launched, is a major setback for Azad’s party that has failed to gather much support in Kashmir valley.

Chand, Lal and Singh were among the first Congress leaders to put their weight behind Azad when he resigned from Congress after five decades of association and hinted at forming a new political party in Jammu and Kashmir.

A prominent Dalit leader, Chand was deputy chief minister during the National Conference-Congress coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, he held the Speaker’s post in the Assembly during the PDP-Congress alliance government. Lal was also remained a minister in the erstwhile state government.