NOW, CONG SACKS DHANBAD DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN

A day after the Dhanbad district disciplinary committee suspended the Congress’ district working president Ravindra Verma on disciplinary grounds, the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee has now sacked the committee’s chairman from the party’s primary membership for the action.

According to officials, the disciplinary committee’s chairman Suresh Chandra Jha did not have the authority to order the suspension. “Since Jha had no authority either to issue a show cause notice or suspend the district working president, he has been suspended from the party till further orders,” state Congress committee working president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh said on Friday.

A three-member disciplinary committee headed by Jha had on Thursday had suspended working president Verma from the party on disciplinary grounds. It was alleged that Verma had opposed a programme by rural development minister cum legislature party leader Alamgir Alam.

“Jha violated the All India Congress Committee’s constitution by suspending Verma from primary membership, stating indiscipline as reason behind the action. Therefore, the party has taken action against him,” said Mahto. Notably, Jha was also the vice-president of the party’s district committee.

In his letter to Dhanbad district president Brajendra Prasad Singh, Mahto said the state committee, while taking cognizance of the ongoing dispute between Singh and working president Verma, had sent zonal coordinator Ashok Choudhary to probe the matter. Chaudhary had submitted his report to state president Rameswar Oraon.

When contacted, Singh said. “I neither have a dispute with any official or party worker nor had any role in the action taken against the district working president.”