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Cong suspends Birender, Brar for ‘hurting party’
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

The rebel brigade

Birender Singh, a Rajya Sabha member of the Congress from Haryana, has been ‘punished’ for blasting CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and holding meetings with BJP leaders

Action has been taken against Jagmeet Brar, a former party MP from Punjab, for making statements against AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress V-P Rahul Gandhi

Exhibiting its extreme arrogance, the party high command had taken an oppressive decision against me. The coterie of advisers around AICC chief Sonia Gandhi has misguided her to act against me. Jagmeet Brar, congress leader

New Delhi, August 14
The Congress on Thursday suspended rebel leaders Birender Singh (Haryana) and Jagmeet Brar (Punjab) from the party for “engaging in anti-party activities”.

"Birender Singh and Jagmeet Brar are deliberately acting in a manner to lower the prestige of the party," said the one-page suspension order issued by Congress general secretary in charge of organisation Janardan Dwivedi.

"The disciplinary committee of the party (headed by former Defence Minister AK Antony) has found the two leaders guilty and recommended that they be suspended from the membership of the party immediately," it said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi accepted the recommendations. The committee had earlier received complaints against Birender, former general secretary of the Congress, and Brar, a former MP and AICC member. The committee studied the relevant documents related to anti-party statements of the two leaders who were issued show-cause notices to explain their position. "Their replies were found to be unsatisfactory," said party sources.

The move comes ahead of the much-hyped Jind rally in which Birender Singh is expected to formally join the BJP in the presence of party chief Amit Shah.

There seems to be a calculated political strategy behind the suspension of Birender and Brar who haven't been expelled.

Birender is a Rajya Sabha MP of the Congress from Haryana. If he is expelled, he gets to keep his RS membership and becomes an unattached member of the House with a right to vote for any party.

"In case of suspension, Birender, under the anti- defection law, would be compelled to vote for the Congress. Also, under the anti-defection law if he, while still being under suspension from the party, joins another party, we can write to the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha for immediate revocation of
his RS membership,” said party sources.

“So tomorrow if Birender Singh joins the BJP, as anticipated, he loses his membership. If we expel him, he gets to keep his membership," they said.

"Suspension means the party will watch the conduct of the leaders and respond accordingly in future," said a senior Congress leader. Birender Singh has been suspended for his repeated public statements against Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda.