Days after receiving notice, Congress suspends 2 senior Odisha leaders for “anti-party activities”

Days after being given a chance to defend themselves, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Saturday dismissed two senior leaders for allegedly engaging in anti-party actions.

The Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim and former MLA Chiranjib Biswal have been expelled from the party by the Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC).

They had notifications before, and in order to get an explanation for the problems and accusations made against them, and based on their responses, this action was done.

“The replies received from the two leaders were carefully considered and found to be unsatisfactory,” said Tariq Anwar, Member Secretary-DAC, AICC.

The DAC then declared that both of the leaders would be suspended immediately.

This comes after the two politicians’ alleged anti-party actions were brought to the committee’s attention by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Sarat Pattanayak.

In response to the accusations, Moquim said that “he has not broken any party regulations. He is still a member of Congress and will run on the Congress ticket in the 2024 election. He is prepared to run as an independent candidate should his request for a party ticket be denied.

Which leaders were put on leave?

Biswal had previously been elected twice on Congress ballots to the Odisha Assembly. He is Basanta Biswal’s senior son, a former deputy chief minister. For a while, he served as the party’s acting president.

In 2019, Moquim won a seat in the Odisha Assembly for the first time. In the 2022 presidential election, the Barabati-Cuttack MLA supported Droupadi Murmu, a candidate for the NDA.

Notably, Moquim and Biswal had already spoken at a meeting in Bhubaneswar about their opinions on the situation at the OPCC.