M A I N   N E W S

SAD expels Calcutta for 6 years
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 7
As expected, the SAD’s disciplinary committee headed by Mr Gurdev Singh Badal today expelled Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta, a member of the Political Affairs Committee, for six years from the primary membership of the party.

Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, secretary of the party, in a statement said Mr Calcutta had been expelled by the disciplinary committee for his alleged anti-party activities. The other members of the committee were Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Dr Rattan Singh Ajnala. They held a meeting here today to take action against Mr Calcutta.

The committee also upheld the expulsion of four party activists — Mr Subeg Singh, senior vice-president, Amritsar city unit, Mr Ranjit Singh, senior vice-president, Amritsar rural unit, Mr Manjit Singh, vice-president, Amritsar rural unit, and Mr Harinder Singh Randhawa — for six years for anti-party activities.

Mr Calcutta was issued a show-cause notice with regard to his alleged anti-party activities a few days ago. He had replied to the notice. “The disciplinary committee, which went through the reply, found it unsatisfactory and resolved to take action against Mr Calcutta”, said Dr Cheema.

For several months, Mr Calcutta, who had joined hands with Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna and his brother, Mr Harvinder Singh Sarna, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, had been issuing statements against the SAD President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, especially attacking his style of functioning.

“Mr Badal continued to tolerate Mr Calcutta’s criticism for a long time. However, when he became a political partner of the Sarna brothers, the most vocal critics of Mr Badal, SAD’s senior leaders decided to issue a show-cause notice to Mr Calcutta”, said a senior leader of the party.

The SAD leader said the Sarna brothers were close associates of the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, who was out to finish SAD in Punjab and was using certain Sikh leaders against the SAD leadership to achieve his objective .

Another major reason, the Akali leader said, for Mr Calcutta’s diatribe against Mr Badal was the SGPC. Mr Calcutta, who was a co-opted member of the SGPC, was keen to have some important position in it. However, Mr Badal failed to accommodate him in the SGPC. That further pushed Mr Calcutta into the camp of the Sarna brothers.