Questioning the authority of his party's High Command cost dear to veteran Congress leader of Madhya Pradesh Gufran-e-Azam, as the party showed him the door on Wednesday.
The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), acting on the directions of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), expelled Azam from the primary membership of the party and the posts, if any, he has been holding with immediate effect.
MPCC chief spokesman KK Mishra while announcing the party's decision at the party's State headquarters, said, "No leader of the party has the right to use indecent language to criticize party leadership. Certain leaders were using bad words for long to curse the party leadership that was benefiting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and in the process they harmed the sentiments of faithful party workers. Azam is one such leader whose statements could be termed as the height of indiscipline, as they were sending negative message about the party."
Mishra further said that the AICC after going through all the available evidence, instructed the MPCC to expel Azam from the primary membership and the posts, if any, he holds. The AICC instructions clearly mentioned that the growing tendency of indiscipline in the party would not be tolerated anymore. And in view of this the AICC has authorized the MPCC to take strict action against those who indulge in indiscipline in future, he added.
Azam is a former Rajya Sabha and lok Sabha parliamentarian and former State vice- president and was AICC member besides being the chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board. Recently, Azam had publicly criticised Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi after the dismal performance of the party in the recent lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.
Azam had questioned their leadership credentials and made statements against them publicly, Mishra said. However, terming his expulsion from the party as "dictatorship of the Congress," Azam told reporters that he received information about it (expulsion) from the media. He said by expelling him from the party without any evidence proved that whatever charges he had levelled against the party leadership were true.
Azam said the decision was unjustified. He warned that he may go to the court against the Congress' decision as according to the party's constitution, before expelling any member it is mandatory to issue a notice and seek reply from the person, but the same was not followed in his case.