Jammu: Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday expelled three top leaders – former ministers Tara Chand and Manohar Lal and former legislator Balwan Singh – from his Democratic Azad Party (DAP) for anti-party activities.
An order for their expulsion with immediate effect was issued by DAP general secretary R S Chib.
“They were expelled for anti-party activities. The chairman (Azad) was convinced that they were not required in the party as they were involved in anti-party activities,” Chib was quoted as saying by PTI.
DAP chairman Azad has made several appointments in the party over the past two days, nearly three months after its launch in Jammu.
According to sources, the discontent among a few of the senior leaders was palpable ever since the new team of office-bearers was announced on Saturday.
“A day after being appointed as Jammu provincial secretary, a senior leader of the party Jai Singh submitted his resignation from the post, citing personal reasons. But in reality, he was, like many other party leaders, not happy with the announcement of new officer-bearers,” said sources.
It may be recalled that former DyCM Tara Chand besides former ministers Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed and GM Saroori were appointed as vice-chairmen of the party.
Azad also named former minister Jugal Kishore Sharma and ex-legislator Mohammad Amin Bhat as the provincial presidents for Jammu and Kashmir regions, respectively.
Sources said that the expulsions were bound to happen as the personal egos of some of the party leaders were quite visible right from their days in Congress.
“Old habits die hard. They (DAP leaders) had bitter differences even when they were in the Congress party. The thin goodie-goodie cover among different camps within the Azad group just came off now,” said sources.
It may be mentioned here that former MLA and Gujjar leader from Poonch district Choudhary Muhammad Akram distanced himself from Ghulam Nabi Azad-led DAP within days of its formation.
Azad, who quit the Congress on August 26, launched the DAP in Jammu on September 26 with the support of dozens of former ministers, ex-legislators, and other prominent leaders, the majority of whom also resigned from the Congress in his support.
On October 01, Azad was unanimously elected as the chairman of the DAP following a resolution passed at a founder members’ session, which was held both in Jammu and Srinagar.
