Infighting continues in Punjab BJP

JALANDHAR, JANUARY 7: Infighting within the Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued with two rebel members of the Legislative Assemb...

JALANDHAR, JANUARY 7: Infighting within the Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued with two rebel members of the Legislative Assembly reiterating corruption charges against state BJP president and a Minister, and the state party leadership threatening to take disciplinary action against them.

“The meeting of the state party office-bearers, attended by 10 of the 14 office-bearers, rejected the charges against me and Minister Balramji Das Tandon outright and empowered me to either talk to rebel MLAs Satpal Gosain and Jagidish Sahni or take disciplinary action against them,” State BJP president Daya Singh Sodhi told reporters here.

Earlier, Gosain and Sahni, MLAs from Ludhiana and Batal respectively, told reporters that they were not asked to substantiate the allegations and would be doing so in their January 20 meeting with BJP general secretary and Punjab affairs incharge Narendra Modi.

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Tandon is also the leader of the BJP Legislature Party in Punjab.

Sodhi said the two MLAs were “actually peeved because they were not included in the ministry during the December 31 expansion by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal”.

Apparently dissatisfied after their meeting with Sodhi, Gosain and Sahni said, “We plan to continue our fight against corrupt elements within the BJP, no matter how high the office they hold, and we will bring the corruption to the notice of the high command to strengthen the party and weed out such elements.”

They said Badal has already been apprised of allegations against Sodhi and Tandon. “We hope the Chief Minister will take action in the matter,” the MLAs added.

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Sodhi said, “We will take action in light of whatever action they indulge in now,” but added the issue might even be resolved amicably.

Sodhi said he was prepared to explain his conduct before the party high command.

He claimed the MLAs admitted that it was a mistake on their part to have rushed to the media with allegations of corruption.

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