 "Facing two-year suspension, Sunil Jakhar wishes Congress 'good luck'")
Shortly after the Congress disciplinary panel recommended his two-year suspension on Tuesday, former Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar wished his party good luck while refusing to reveal his own plans.
I wish the Congress good luck, Jakhar said when reporters sought his reaction to the disciplinary committee's recommendation. He refused to comment when asked what would be his next step.
The committee, which met Tuesday morning in Delhi, gave its recommendations to party president Sonia Gandhi, who will take the necessary action.
Ahead of the panel's meeting, Jakhar had said those who still have a conscience will be punished.
Aaj, sar kalam honge unke jinme abhi zameer baaki hai. (Today, those with a conscience will be beheaded). (My apologies to Javed Akhtar Saheb), the former MP said in a tweet earlier in the day.
The party disciplinary committee had on April 11 given a show-cause notice to Jakhar for alleged anti-party activities and sought a reply within a week. But he chose not to reply.
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Jakhar had criticised former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him a liability for the party after the Congress lost the Punjab Assembly polls to the Aam Aadmi Party.
Some party leaders, including former minister Raj Kumar Verka, had also demanded action against Jakhar, accusing him of using objectionable language against Channi and the Scheduled Caste community during a TV interview.
But Jakhar had rejected the charge, saying his remarks were twisted out of context. He had also expressed regret if anybody was hurt by his comments.
He had earlier created a flutter claiming that 42 MLAs wanted him to be the chief minister and only two backed Channi after the unceremonious exit of Amarinder Singh last year.
He was among the frontrunners for the CM's post after Amarinder Singh was unseated by the party.
Earlier, Jakhar was replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu as the Punjab Congress president.
His chances of becoming the CM were scuttled after party veteran Ambika Soni said the Congress should go with a Sikh face in Punjab.
The disciplinary panel also recommended the suspension of five Meghalaya MLAs who had supported the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), defying the party directives.