Jammu: In a surprising turn of events, chairman of Democratic Azad Party (DAP) Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday expelled three senior party leaders viz., former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma and Balwan Singh for anti-party activities.
“Chairman DAP Ghulam Nabi Azad has expelled Tara Chand, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma, and Balwan Singh from the party with immediate effect for anti-party activities,” read a single-line order issued by DAP general secretary R S Chib, this evening.
Immediately after expulsion of these leaders, the DAP held a meeting to review the situation within the party. DAP general secretary R S Chib, however, was not available for comments despite repeated attempts.
Later, one of the senior leaders of DAP, on the condition of anonymity, confirmed, “We got to know about their (expelled leaders’) anti-party activities and accordingly, a decision to expel them was taken in the interest of the party by taking into confidence the leadership (of DAP).”
The sources said that the differences within DAP started emerging after the announcement of office bearers’ lists. Earlier, a former legislator from one of the assembly constituencies in Poonch district distanced himself from the party activities though officially it was not confirmed by the leaders in DAP.
Meanwhile, the former Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, who was among the three leaders who were expelled from DAP, told Greater Kashmir, “There was something wrong in the Democratic Azad Party for the past several days.”
“We were of the opinion that the DAP leadership should speak to the Congress high command. We were opposed to fighting elections against each other (DAP and Congress),” Tara Chand said.
He further said, “Before this (expulsion) notice, we had already scheduled a meeting with the like-minded leaders in DAP. In this regard, we already had held a series of underground meetings. However, before our scheduled meeting, this notice was served.”
“Many DAP leaders (former Congress leaders) are in our contact and we are convincing others to come with us,” the former Deputy Chief Minister further claimed. He also hinted that they were already in touch with the Congress high command and wanted to “join secular forces.”
When asked what would be their future course of action, he responded, “We will hold a meeting with the like-minded people and accordingly, we will decide further course of action.”
Meanwhile, a senior J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) leader also confirmed, “The expelled leaders were in touch with us. We may reconsider their entry.” However, he declined to elaborate further.