Congress expels Odisha ex-MLA Mohammed Moquim over anti-party activities
The expulsion was initiated on a proposal by OPCC President Bhakta Das and subsequently approved by the All India Congress Committee (AICC)
The Congress on Monday expelled former MLA Md Moquim from the party for six years following a letter he wrote to senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi questioning the leadership of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Bhakta Charan Das and raising concerns about the party’s functioning.
The expulsion was initiated on a proposal by OPCC President Bhakta Das and subsequently approved by the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
According to leaders aware of the developments, the decision was taken after the leadership viewed Moquim’s communication as indiscipline and anti-party conduct.
In his five-page letter to Gandhi, seen by HT, Moquim questioned Das’s credibility, pointing out that he had lost three consecutive elections. He also cited the Congress’s defeat in the Nuapada Assembly by-election, where the party lost by a margin of over 83,000 votes.
The 59-year-old former MLA, in his letter, had called for major organisational reforms, saying the party required deep structural and ideological changes to regain public trust. He also expressed concern over Congress’s poor performance in the last three Lok Sabha elections and recent assembly polls in several states.
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Defending the expulsion, OPCC media cell chief Arabinda Das issued a strong statement asserting that Moquim’s communication was not intended to reform the party.
“If one would read the five-page letter sent by Md Moquim (to the party high command), then they would see clearly that it was meant to disrupt the party rather than streamline it (as he claimed),” Das said.
“It was clear from the letter that he was furthering the chaos and disorganisation spearheaded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and he clearly meant to disrupt the party. He claimed to be a loyal member of the Congress party, but he insulted its leaders, its state and national chiefs. He was simply inviting expulsion and was completely disinterested in staying with the party,” he added.
