Chandigarh, October 20: The Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday recommended Manpreet Singh Badal’s expulsion from primary membership of the party.
After a key meeting of SAD in Chandigarh, DAC chairman Ranjit Singh Brahmpura said that party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was recommended by the Committee to expel Manpreet, his cousin, from the party’s primary membership for indulging in anti-party activities.
Manpreet, four-time MLA from Gidderbaha Assembly seat, had recently been sacked as Finance Minister by his uncle and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
He had been asked by the DAC on October 11 to be present before it today and not to go public on any issue during the interim period.
However, Manpreet had announced that he would not appear before the DAC and said he expected that the next course of action against him would be expulsion.
“We had asked Manpreet to appear before us by 11 am, but we waited till 1.30 pm. He did not bother to make his presence before us…besides he also made statements against
Sukhbir Singh Badal, the core committee of the SAD…he has indulged in anti-party activities,” Brahmpura said.
Besides, the DAC also issued show cause notice to two party MLAs – Jagbir Singh Brar, who is legislator from Jalandhar cantonment and Manpreet’s relative and Manjinder Singh Kang, MLA from Beas – till November 10.
Both the MLAs had shown their support to Manpreet in his stand against the partyline adopted by Sukhbir on subsidies and the proposed loan waiver by the Centre.
Brahmpura, who is heading the five-member panel of the ruling SAD, said that the decision to recommend Manpreet’s expulsion from the party was “unanimous.”
“Manpreet had made condemnable statements against Sukhbir and core committee members of the SAD,” he said.
Manpreet is continuously being isolated within the SAD after he raised his voice on the proposed debt waiver by the Centre and his opposition to subsidies being a key factor in the election manifesto of the SAD.
The claims of the proposed central debt waiver having certain pre-conditions have been refuted by Chief Minister Badal and his son Sukhbir.
Manpreet had maintained that he would continue his fight by remaining within the SAD.
—Agencies