Congress expels Amit Jogi, asks PM to sack Raman Singh

'Will Modi now show the courage of his conviction?'

Heads started rolling in the Antagarh bypoll fixing controversy with the Chhattisgarh Congress unit on Wednesday expelling party MLA Amit Jogi and demanding ouster of his father and former chief minister Ajit Jogi.

Seeking to take a high moral ground, Congress cited the action against Jogi junior and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi sack State Chief Minister Raman Singh at whose behest the Congress candidate was offered “monetary allurement” to withdraw from the 2014 bypoll.

At a meeting in Raipur, the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee expelled Amit Jogi for a period of six years. It also adopted a resolution demanding ouster of Ajit Jogi from the party.

Since the former chief minister is a member of the Congress Working Committee, any disciplinary action against him has to be taken by the party president.

In Delhi, chief AICC spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala asked the Prime Minister to display his zero tolerance towards corruption.

“The Congress party has taken action against one of its leaders. Will Modiji now show the courage of his conviction by seeking Raman Singh’s resignation or sacking him,” Surjewala asked.

A delegation of Chhattisgarh Congress, led by chief Bhupesh Baghel is expected to meet party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and submit its report on the bypoll fixing controversy involving the Jogis, Raman Singh’s son-in-law Puneet Gupta, the then Congress candidate Manturam Pawar and former Jogi loyalists Firdous Siddiqui and Ameen Memon.

The leaked tape, which has conversations suggesting money changed hands to make Pawar withdraw at the last minute to facilitate the BJP nominee's victory, had triggered a huge political storm in Chhattisgarh with Baghel serving a show cause notice to Amit Jogi last month seeking his reply within seven days. Amit had denied the allegations levelled against him.

The Congress had demanded an investigation by a sitting Supreme Court judge or a SC-monitored Special Investigation Team to probe the entire issue.

Interestingly, neither the Centre nor the state government had ordered any probe into the matter. After the controversy broke out last week, the Election Commission had sought a factual report from the Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary