Congress expels Digvijaya Singh's brother for 6 years over remarks on Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI): The Congress on Wednesday expelled former Madhya Pradesh MLA Laxman Singh, who is brother of ex-chief minister Digvijaya Singh, from the primary membership of the party for six years for "anti-party activities".
The action against Laxman Singh, also a five-time MP, came after he repeatedly made "derogatory" remarks against party leader Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress had earlier issued a show cause notice against him saying why action should not be taken against him for his remarks.
"Congress president has expelled Laxman Singh, former MLA, Madhya Pradesh, from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress for a period of six years with immediate effect due to his anti-party activities," Tariq Anwar, member secretary of the Congress' Disciplinary Action Committee, said in a statement.
The statement did not elaborate based on what "anti-party activities" it had acted against Laxman Singh.
The MP Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) had made a recommendation to the party leadership for initiating action against him for his alleged anti-party activities and the matter was sent to the Disciplinary Action Committee of the AICC.
Laxman Singh has been a five-time MP and three-time MLA from Madhya Pradesh. He was first elected to the state legislature in 1990. He became an MP for the first time in 1994 from Rajgarh.
He switched to the BJP in 2004 when he was elected to the Lok Sabha again. He returned to the Congress fold in 2013.
Last month, the Congress issued a show-cause notice to Laxman Singh, younger brother of party veteran Digvijaya Singh, saying his "derogatory" remarks targeting senior party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have "crossed all acceptable limits".
It said his remarks have caused "serious damage" to the party's "image and dignity".
On April 25, Laxman Singh had attacked the party leadership in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
"Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra are naive. The country is suffering the consequences of their immaturity," he had said during a condolence meeting organised to pay tributes to the Pahalgam victims.
The notice was issued to Laxman Singh on May 9 by party's Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) member secretary Tariq Anwar.
It said, "This is to bring to your notice that a complaint has been received from MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of MP Harish Chaudhary regarding your repeated public statements that have caused serious damage to the image and dignity of the Congress."
"It has been further noted that your recent statement has crossed all acceptable limits, particularly the derogatory and disrespectful remarks directed at senior party leadership, including the Honourable Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi," the notice said.
On April 25, Laxman Singh had also targeted Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, saying he could be "in cahoots with terrorists".
Targeting Vadra, he had said, "Robert Vadra's statement that the terrorists attacked because they did not allow Muslims to offer namaz on the road is not only irresponsible but also a statement that poses a threat to the security of the country. I am saying all this in front of the camera, so that no one is confused. Congress should think 10 times before speaking, otherwise the public will answer in the elections."
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Bridge portion collapses on Jammu outskirts; 3-4 labourers feared trapped, 1 rescued
Jammu (PTI): A portion of a small bridge collapsed in the Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Friday, trapping at least three to four labourers under the debris, while one injured worker was rescued, official sources said.
Authorities have closed the road link following the collapse of the portion of the bridge.
The incident occurred when labourers were carrying out repair work on a retaining wall near the bridge that was damaged in last year's flash floods, the sources said.
According to the sources, a section of the bridge suddenly gave way, burying workers engaged at the site under the rubble.
Police, Army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams launched rescue operations to extricate those buried under the debris. They pulled out one injured labourer and shifted him to a hospital, the sources said.
Family members of the labourers present at the site said around six workers engaged at the site at the time of the incident came under the debris when the structure collapsed. The family members said while two of the labourers managed to escape, four got trapped.
The sources said those trapped included the husband of a woman labourer, a mason, an unmarried labourer and a relative of the contractor.
There was no official confirmation on the exact number of persons trapped under the debris till the filing of this report.
The rescue operations are ongoing.
