Suspended Gujarat Congmen challenge disciplinary action

Bharat Solanki told PTI over telephone, “We being AICC delegates, the state unit president cannot take any disciplinary action against us. If any action has to be taken against us, then that power is vested with the AICC alone, according to the party constitution”.

Solanki said he received the telegram informing him about his suspension at his ancestral address at Borsad. The message was in English which simply said that he had been suspended from primary as well as active membership of the party for indulging in anti-party activity.

Asked whether they (the suspended leaders) had contacted the high command, Solanki said he was not aware if anyone from among them had spoken to some leaders in Delhi about the development, adding, however, that the news has reached them nonetheless.

Asked whether they had dropped their plan regarding holding of the convention of Congress workers at grassroot level in Gandhinagar tomorrow, Bharat said that there was no change in the plan.

He said “We are trying to strengthen the Congress by holding the convention of grassroot level workers and motivating them against the anti-people policies of the BJP-led governments both at the Centre and Gujarat”.

“Invitations to the workers had been already sent. We had also invited state unit Congress President C D Patel, leader of Opposition in the Assembly Amarsinh Chaudhary and Shankarsin Vaghela among others. In fact, we had planned to hold the convention first on May 27 and then on June 18, but had to postpone the dates under unexplicable circumstances before settling for June 27 as the final date for the rally”, Bharat said.

Asked whether they were planning to form another party following their suspension, Bharat ruled out the possibility. “My family’s association with the Congress dates back to 1930. My grandfather, Ishwarsinh Chavda and father Madhavsinh Solanki had close family ties with Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Even today, the same can be said about our family’s ties with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

“Under no circumstances, can we ever think of snapping our ties with Congress which has been our life and blood. Our family has always been with the Gandhis through thick and thin. So there is no reason for us to think of leaving the party now. All that we are trying to do is to strengthen the Congress but some people are not quite comfortable with it and are exploiting their position in the Congress hierarchy to further their vested interests and brew factionalism in the party”, he said.

Asked about their future course of action, the suspended leader said “let us first be done with the convention tomorrow”.

He said the party constitution clearly states that “the PCC president can place under suspension any committee subordinate to the PCC, any member of the PCC or committee subordinate to the PCC, but not a member of parliament or AICC, if there is a prima facie breach of discipline”, Bharat said, adding that therefore their suspensions were not justifiable.