Jakhar, Thomas removed from Congress posts over ‘anti-party activities’

The Congress on Wednesday removed Sunil Jakhar, KV Thomas from party positions for “anti-party activities” and suspended five Meghalaya lawmakers for backing the state’s National People’s Party-led government. Tariq Anwar, a member of the Congress five-member disciplinary committee, said the panel met under AK Antony’s leadership and decided to remove the two. “Considering their [Jakhar and Thomas] seniority and long association with Congress, they have neither been suspended nor expelled from the party,” he said.The action against Jakhar, a former Congress Punjab unit chief, was taken over comments against former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi. Jakhar blamed Channi for the Congress’s poor performance in this year’s assembly polls. He also targeted Congress leader Ambika Soni for favouring Channi’s chief ministerial candidature.Thomas, a former Union minister, was removed for attending an event of Kerala’s ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) on April 9 in defiance of the party’s directions against doing so. He was a member of the executive committee of the Congress in Kerala.