Thaindian News

New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva was Wednesday dropped from the post of general secretary of the party as well as the Congress Working Committee and the Central Election Committee. She was also stripped of the charge of Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Mizoram. Mizoram goes to the polls on Dec 2.

“Congress president Sonia Gandhi has taken the decision on the report submitted by A.K. Antony, chairperson of the Disciplinary Action Committee,” Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad told IANS.

Alva had Tuesday submitted her resignation as general secretary of the party - after she was accused of indiscipline on the ground that she had gone public with her allegation that party nominations were sold during the Karnataka polls.

Last week, Alva had alleged in an interview that “different yardsticks” were being implemented in deciding party nominations for upcoming elections in six states.

She had questioned why her son Nivedith and the grandson of former union minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief were denied nominations in Karnataka while relatives of two dozen leaders were given tickets in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.

“Were my son and Jaffer Sharief’s grandson anti-national, terrorists or smugglers?” Alva had asked.

Senior Congress leaders disapproved of her action of going to the media over the issue knowing this would provide the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) easy ammunition in the run-up to the polls.

Her allegations were labelled a “stunning revelation” by the BJP. “This has thrown up a cash-for-ticket scam,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said here.