Punjab’s former party chief Sunil Jakhar quits Congress

Former Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar quit the party in a theatrical fashion on Saturday. In a Facebook Live stream titled 'Mann ki Baat', he bid adieu to the party thus: “Goodbye and Goodluck Congress”. A three-time MLA and one-time MP, Jakhar removed all party references from his social media handles. He removed the Congress from his Twitter bio, and replaced the party flag as the background image of his Twitter account with the Tricolour.

Jakhar said he was heartbroken on being “stripped of all party posts” by the disciplinary panel following the allegations of anti-party activities against him by certain Punjab Congress leaders.He also blamed Congress MP Ambika Soni’s statement on the “repercussions of having a Hindu chief minister in Punjab” for the party’s drubbing in the state assembly polls earlier this year. On Rahul Gandhi, Jakhar praised the former Congress president as a “good person” and appealed to him to once again take command of the party while keeping a distance from “chaploos log” (sycophants).