BJP expels Kalyan
Party won’t break up: Thakre
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Dec 9 — The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Kalyan Singh, was today expelled from the primary membership of the BJP for six years after the disciplinary action committee (DAC) held him guilty of breaching party discipline.

The party President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, while announcing his decision to expel Mr Kalyan Singh from the party said he had accepted the recommendations of the DAC, which looked into the charges against the former Chief Minister.

Mr Kalyan Singh had acted in a manner which lowered the prestige of the party, and spoken against the ideals of the party and its leadership thus violating Section 25 of the BJP’s constitution, Mr Thakre said.

The BJP President said a debate within the party was fine but somebody denigrating the prestige of the party in public was not acceptable.

The DAC, chaired by party Vice- President, Mr J.P. Mathur, and comprising Mr Om Prakash Kohli, Mr Satyanarain Jatiya, Ms Jaywanti Behn Mehta and Mr Ravishanker Prasad, in its report had taken exception to Mr Kalyan Singh’s utterances in Aligarh and New Delhi soon after he was removed from the chief ministership. Mr Kalyan Singh had accused the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, with being directly responsible for his removal.

Mr Thakre said the reply of Mr Kalyan Singh to the show-cause notice served on him by the party was more serious than his utterances in Aligarh.

The DAC said Mr Kalyan Singh in his reply had questioned the policies and the organisational structure of the party and levelled “baseless and illogical” allegations against the party leadership, particularly the Prime Minister and the national President.

Mr Kalyan Singh had charged the national President with being biased against him and claimed that the suspension proceedings initiated against him were absolutely unfair, unprincipled and discriminatory.

The former Chief Minister had alleged that the conspiracy to have him expelled from the party had been going on for 10 months.

The committee said the charges levelled by Mr Kalyan Singh against Mr Vajpayee were of serious nature, especially his contention that the Prime Minister had made a prestige issue to remove him from the party.

The DAC also disapproved of several other charges levelled by Mr Kalyan Singh. These included his statement that the Prime Minister was against him as he did not want him to champion the cause of the backward classes. The former Chief Minister had also charged the BJP with pursuing personality-based politics and dropping its avowed principles and ideal for the sake of power.

The former Chief Minister decision to release his reply to the show-cause to the media on December 3 also came in for criticism from the DAC.

Mr Thakre said Mr Kalyan Singh’s expulsion was unlikely to make a big difference to the party in UP and he did not expect BJP workers to go with him. He said there was no question of the BJP breaking up.

The party President said, he like many others in the party, was not happy about the decision but then it was necessary in the interest of the BJP. No individual was above the party and no person, however small or big, could violate party discipline, he added.