Congress panel recommends suspension of Punjab leader Sunil Jakhar for two years

The Congress Disciplinary Action Committee’s (DAC’s) recommendation to suspend former Punjab unit president Sunil Jakhar for two years on Tuesday seems all set to fan infighting in the state which saw a humiliating drubbing in the assembly election due to the same about two months ago.

While the Congress disciplinary panel has recommended Jakhar’s two-year suspension, the former three-time legislator wished his party "good luck" while refusing to reveal his plans before newspersons in Delhi.

It may be recalled that Jakhar was issued a show-cause notice by the DAC on April 11, 2022, for his alleged anti-party statements during the Punjab elections, though he chose not to reply.

On Tuesday, in Delhi, before the DAC meeting, he had Tweeted: “Aaj, sar kalam honge unke, jinme abhi zameer baaki hai (Today, those with a conscience will be beheaded)”.

In the party circles, the post was seen as another dare by Jakhar to the Congress leadership. Back home, the development has already ignited a feeling among a section of party leaders that the panel’s recommendations against Jakhar, who headed the Punjab unit till nine months ago, had the potential to intensify infighting in the state unit that was already suffering from factionalism.

Meanwhile, according to media reports, Jakhar’s nephew and newly elected Abohar Congress legislator Sandeep Jakhar reacted to the said DAC reports and said that if such action had been recommended, it was unfair.

Former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and some other former MLAs met Jakhar at his Panchkula residence on April 15, 2022, to express solidarity with him and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Raminder Awla too had come out in his support.

While several party leaders did not want to be named to speak for Jakhar, senior Dalit leader Raj Kumar Verka said that such an action against Jakhar alone would be an injustice. "If the party wants to send a message against anti-party remarks or indiscipline, there were others too who are still in the party while Jakhar had already regretted his remarks for his remark on Dalits," he said.

It may also be recalled that Jakhar had said that he was rejected for the chief ministerial post for being a Hindu and blamed some senior advisers sitting in Delhi for the decision.

In another statement that caused flutters within the party, he said that at the time of selection of then chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s successor, 42 of the 79 Congress MLAs had backed him and only two were with Charanjit Singh Channi, whom the party leadership picked for the post.