The Shiromani Akali Dal on Sunday expelled its Member of Parliament Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, his son Ravinder Brahmpura, former Member of Parliament Rattan Singh Ajnala and his son Bonny Ajnala from the party for “anti-party” activities.
The party's core committee at its meeting held here decided to expel these leaders from the primary membership of the party for six years for “indulging in anti-party activities”.
Akali Dal leader and spokesperson Harcharan Bains said the party regretted that Mr. Brahmpura and Mr. Rattan Ajnala and their sons, who are also members of the party, have recently been acting in a manner which showed utter insensitivity and disregard for the respect extended to them by the party leaders -- Parkash Singh Badal and party president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
“The core committee felt that Mr. Parkash Singh Badal and Mr. Sukhbir Badal displayed extraordinary patience, humility and tolerance even in the face of utterly unwarranted personal attacks against them and against the party by these leaders,” said Mr. Bains.
Mr. Brahmpura, MP from Khadoor Sahib, had resigned from the party last month on age and health grounds.
“As senior leaders of the Akali Dal both Mr. Brahmpura and Mr. Ajnala were privy to and part of every decision that the party took in the past, including while the party was in government in Punjab. Mr. Brahmpura has been issuing statements against the party on the issue of sacrilege, forgetting that he had himself forced the party leadership to allot a ticket to his son Ravinder to contest as Assembly candidate on an Akali ticket when the Congress leader Ramanjit Singh Sikki had vacated his seat on the issue of sacrilege,” said Mr. Bains.