Cong expels 11 Chikkaballapur ZP members for defying party whip

They voted for no-trust motion against vice-president

Fourteen members had moved a no confidence motion against the then Zilla Panchayat vice-president Chenduru Venkatesh on April 14. Eleven Congress members including Zilla Panchayat president Vinuta Srinivas and former president Chikkanarasimhaiah had voted against Venkatesh. All the 11 members had attended the meeting defying the whip issued by the Disciplinary Committee to stay away. And, they had voted against the vice-president in the meeting which was presided over by ZP president Vinuta Srinivas.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary Abdul Wahab  has said that the members have been expelled from the party since they defied the whip. The following are the expelled members and the ZP constituency they represent.

A V Pujappa (Bagepalli kasaba), M B Chikkanarasimhaiah (Mittemari), Srinivas (Gulur), A D Avulappa (Mandikal in Chikkaballapur taluk), P Muniraju (Thippenahalli), N Muniyappa (Abludu of Shidlaghatta taluk), R Vinuta Srinivas (Cheemanagala), H V Kamalamma (Chilakalanerpu in Chintamani taluk), D V Obalappa (Dibburahalli), S A Srinivas (Gauribidanur taluk) and Ramanjinamma (Nagaragere). Wahab has also said that the District Congress Committee president has been asked to recommend annulment the Zilla Panchayat membership of all the expelled people under Anti-defection Law.

Cries foul
On the other hand, D V Obalappa has alleged that he has been suspended from the party even though he did not attend the meeting which adopted the no confidence motion against Chenduru Venkatesh.

In a press release, Obalappa has said that he had been a loyal Congress worker for the last four decades and he stayed away from the meeting according to the whip issued by the Disciplinary Committee. He has said his signature does not appear neither in the attendance register of the members nor in the resolution book.
He has regretted that the party seniors have expelled him without obtaining a copy of the resolution.

Claiming that his expulsion from the party ahead of Gram Panchayat elections would not augur well for Congress , Obalappa has urged the party leadership to withdraw the expulsion order.

Obalappa, in his statement has alleged that he has been expelled from the party with ulterior motive and that he has explained all the facts in a letter addressed to All India Congress Committee (AICC) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers M Veerappa Moily, S M Krishna and K H Muniyappa.
DH News Service