Expulsion of members shocks Congress leaders

Congress leaders in the State have expressed shock and dismay over Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K.V. Thangkabalu's “unilateral” decision to expel 19 members from the party.

E.V.K.S. Elangovan, former TNCC president, said Mr. Thangkabalu had no right or authority to expel a sitting MLA, AICC members and Youth Congress members on his own.

Any action against an AICC member or a sitting MLA could be taken only by the high command and not by the Pradesh Congress Committee president. Youth Congress members were democratically elected and the power to take disciplinary action against them was vested only in that unit's leadership, he emphasised.

“When Mr. Thangkabalu tried to address the public meeting in Erode in which Rahul Gandhi participated, the people spontaneously opposed him and he had to wind up his speech within a minute. I was a witness. He has expelled some Youth Congress members, blaming them for the incident,” Mr. Elangovan said. “It is beyond his jurisdiction. The AICC should initiate disciplinary proceedings against him,” he demanded. In a statement, AICC member Karti Chidambaram said he was shocked by the TNCC president's announcement on April 13 expelling 19 members. This was against party rules.

Mr. Karti said he had explained the issue in detail to Congress Working Committee member and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. “A good decision will come soon,” he said.

State Youth Congress president M. Yuvaraja said the TNCC president had no right to interfere in the functioning of the Youth Congress. If there was any problem, the TNCC president should have informed the IYC leadership.

A show-cause notice had to be served, seeking a reply from the functionaries concerned.