8 suspended from primary membership

SHIMLA: In what is being seen as factionalism within Himahal Pradesh Congress, state party chief Kaul Singh Thakur on Saturday suspended eight party workers, including former NSUI state chief Atul Sharma, from the primary membership of the party. Incidentally, all of them are said to be loyalists of Union minister for micro, small and medium enterprises, Virbhadra Singh.
According to party a spokesperson, the eight Congressmen it is alleged had resorted to indiscipline in a meeting of the party held at the Congress office here on May 15, in presence of national general secretary Virender Chowdhary.The eight are Hussein Ali, Atul Sharma, Avkash Saini, Dharampal Thakur, Pratap Kaundal, Harash Sharma, Ram Rattan Sharma and Uday Chand, he added.
He said three of them did not even bother to reply. HPCC chief was not satisfied with the replies of the five and as such along with them suspended the three others also who had not given a reply to the notice that had been issued to them, he added.