Congress expels Deshmukh for anti-party remarks

The expulsion order was issued to Deshmukh by a disciplinary committee headed by senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on May 22. The committee was not satisfied with the former MLA’s reply to a show-cause notice on March 5

Mumbai: Days after he had a breakfast meeting with deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at his residence, former Nagpur MLA Ashish Deshmukh was expelled from Congress for a period of six years over his statements against the party leadership.

Nagpur, India - July 20, 2018: BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh holding banner demanding suitable place for Petroleum Refinery project in Vidarbha region during the concluding of Monsoon Session of Maharashtra State Assembly in Nagpur, India, on Friday, July 20, 2018. (Photo by Sunny Shende/ HT) (HT)

The expulsion order was issued to Deshmukh by a disciplinary committee headed by senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on May 22. The committee was not satisfied with the former MLA’s reply to a show-cause notice on March 5.

Deshmukh was accused of making statements against former party president Rahul Gandhi and state unit chief Nana Patole. He was also suspended for the same soon after the remarks were made in March this year.

“The committee is not satisfied with the reply filed by you. The rules related to discipline and guiding principles are applicable in this case. Considering your statements against the party, you have been expelled from the primary membership for a period of six years with immediate effect,” the order issued by the committee read.

In March, Deshmukh had asked Rahul Gandhi to apologise to the Other Backward Class (OBC) community over his “Modi surname” remarks. He had also alleged that the state Congress president Nana Patole took money from chief minister Eknath Shinde.

Deshmukh is a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Katol in Nagpur. He joined the Congress in October 2018. He contested the state assembly elections against Fadnavis from Nagpur Southwest constituency in 2019. He is the son of former state Congress chief Ranjit Deshmukh.