Chandigarh, January 14
In a major political development, Congress MLA and former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and his two loyalist MLAs Dharam Pal Malik and Rakesh Kamboj were today suspended from the Congress for anti-party activities.

A press release issued from the AICC headquarters in New Delhi said, “Shri Bhajan Lal, Shri Dharam Pal Singh Malik and Shri Rakesh Kamboj, MLAs, Haryana, have been suspended from the Indian National Congress for anti-party activities with immediate effect.”

The release was signed by Janardhan Dwivedi, who heads the party’s disciplinary wing.

Bhajan Lal, who is away to the USA on a private visit, could not be contacted for his comments. Malik, who had also remained the PCC chief of Haryana, said he and his associates had simply voiced the grievances of the public. “Citizens of India have the right to freedom of speech and we have only exercised that right,” Malik, who was aboard a southbound train, said. He said he would come out with a more elaborate statement after he sees the press release issued by the AICC.

Kuldeep Bishnoi, Bhajan Lal’s son and an MP, who was the first to openly take the cudgel against the Congress government in Haryana and the party’s central leadership, was earlier suspended from the party on the same ground. Bhajan Lal’s elder son Chander Mohan continues to remain a loyal member of the party and Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana.

Bhajan Lal and Bishnoi had already floated a new party, christened as Janhit Congress, the formation of which was announced at a rally in Rohtak last month.

It was the formation of the new party that prompted the Congress to take disciplinary action against Bhajan Lal and the two other MLAs. Both Malik and Kamboj were present at the Rohtak event.

Bhajan Lal and his loyalists, who have been sulking ever since Bhupinder Singh Hooda was chosen for the post of Chief Minister by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, had also given a long rope to the party by ducking from resigning from the Assembly seats (Lok Sabha membership in case of Kuldeep Bishnoi), which they had won on Congress tickets.

Earlier this month, Hooda loyalist MLAs of Haryana made representations to the Speaker of the Assembly seeking disqualification of Bhajan Lal, Malik and Kamboj from the Assembly for anti-party activities.