Ahead of the Assembly polls, Punjab BJP on Saturday expelled former state minister Anil Joshi from the party for six years after he gave his reply to a show-cause notice issued by the state unit of the party for his “anti-party” activities. The next political move of Joshi is being watched now.
According to the notice, Joshi had been making statements against the Union government, party's central leadership and policies. He was expelled on the directions of state unit chief Ashwani Sharma, according to a party statement.
Joshi did not give up his stubborn attitude of going against the party whereupon state BJP chief Ashwani Sharma on the recommendations of a disciplinary committee expelled him from the primary membership of the party for six years.
Earlier, in a two-page reply to the show-cause notice, Joshi said he never spoke against the Centre’s farm laws and asked the state party chief if it is indiscipline to talk about farmers. The former Amritsar North MLA asserted that he always spoke about the party's interests. “I neither spoke against the Centre's farm laws nor against central leaders,” Joshi
replied.
Joshi rather asked Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma whether it was indiscipline to talk about farmers. “Is it indiscipline to talk about arhtiyas, industrialists, small traders and labourers,” he asked. The former minister said workers are leaving the party and asked the Punjab BJP chief whether giving a suggestion to save the party was indiscipline.
Joshi also pointed out that initially, farmers protesting against the farm laws in the state had a few demands that could have been handled had the BJP's Punjab unit made some efforts.
Joshi has been blaming the party's state leadership for not giving a correct feedback to the Centre on the farm laws. He had also stated that it had become difficult for party workers to come out of their homes.
Earlier this week, the former legislator from Amritsar North segment slammed the state unit for giving “incorrect feedback” to the Centre on farm laws, and severely impacting the state party unit by “misguiding” the central leadership. Mincing no words to attack the state’s senior leadership in wrongfully dealing with the issue of farmers’ agitation over the controversial laws, Joshi demanded the resignation of the state unit president Ashwani Sharma.
“State BJP president Ashwani Sharma should admit his failure and resign rather than issuing me notices. He should resign for failing in securing the party leaders and workers in the State, who are feeling suffocated or suffering. He failed to stand by the party MLA who was thrashed and stripped,” said Joshi who was asked to respond to notice in two days explaining why repeatedly he has been making anti-party statements and acting against the interests of the party.
Joshi maintained that the state party leadership did not conveyed the real picture of farmers’ issue to the high command but always “misguided the Centre”, projected common people as farmers by making them wear turbans during video conference meetings with the central leaders;
He said that the state unit, led by Ashwani Sharma, “lied to the party’s senior leadership by telling them that they had made farmers in villages understand the benefits of the farm laws by holding programmes and functions, whereas the truth was that farmers were sitting on toll barriers and railway tracks to protest these laws”.
Joshi had shown support to the farmers’ agitation by saying that they have to contest the elections in Punjab and they cannot ignore the voice of people from Punjab. Joshi had held state leaders of BJP responsible for the condition of party workers and attacks on them.