5 Cong leaders expelled for throwing ink at Sarat

Bhubaneswar: The Congress on Sunday expelled its five leaders in Odisha, including the party’s State unit general secretary, for six years for their alleged involvement in an incident in which ink was thrown at OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak. Two masked persons had on Friday thrown ink at the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee chief at its State headquarters here.

The OPCC general secretary Prakash Mishra, Odisha Pradesh Mahila Congress general secretary Shriyasmita Panda, the party’s student wing National Students’ Union of India secretary Sandip Routray, Youth Congress State secretary Amresh Parida and NSUI State secretary Aryan Sasmal were expelled for six years, a party leader said. The OPCC disciplinary action committee chairman Santosh Singh Saluja issued the expulsion order. Saluja said a few office-bearers and some of those who held various posts of the party were undisciplined and damaged the image of the organisation. Two unidentified persons had entered Pattanayak’s chambers on June 21 morning and splashed blue ink on his clothes, before fleeing from the spot. “Based on TV footage, for such anti-party and indiscipline activities, Sarat Pattanayak, president of OPCC, has expelled the Congresspersons for six years,” Saluja said in his order. The party has forwarded a copy of the expulsion order to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC in-charge of Odisha Ajoy Kumar.

The party had initially accused that some miscreants carried out the misdeeds at the behest of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party or some other political party. However, the expulsion order confirmed that the ink attack on Pattanayak was the handiwork of some disgruntled party workers. It also brought to fore the internal party squabble which is a cause of concern for the Congress.