PATNA: Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee ( BPCC ) on Saturday served a show-cause notice to its former vice-president Pravin Kushwaha asking him to explain as to why he should not be expelled from the party for a period of six years for “breaking discipline” in the presence AICC secretary Virendra Singh Rathore during the party workers’ meet at Bhagalpur on Friday.

Sources said Rathore had reached Bhagalpur on Friday to address a district-level meeting of Congress workers. Since the meet was convened in the wake of the AICC’s secretary’s visit, all prominent Congress leaders of the district including the Congress legislative party leader and Kahalgain MLA Sadanand Singh, were present at the meet.

A party senior said an unruly scene was created at the workers’ meet after supporters of Kushwaha and Bhagalpur MLA Ajeet Sharma engaged in verbal dual. The trouble began after supporters of Kushwaha and Sharma began shouting slogans in favour of their respective leaders with an intention to display supremacy. Amidst the commotion, some unruly workers manhandled Sadanand Singh. Though Rathore tried to pacify the supporters of both the groups, but in vain. As the supporters of Kushwaha kept shouting slogans, Rathore had to postpone the meeting midway.

“Kushwaha has been asked to reply to the show-cause notice within seven days,” BPCC’s media in-charge H K Verma told TOI on Saturday.

Verma said the BPCC In-charge president Kaukab Quadri has also formed a three-member team led by former minister Jyoti to probe into the act of indiscipline at the Bhagalpur meet. Other two members of the probe team are Harkhu Jha and Samir Kumar Singh. “The probe team has been asked to submit its reports to the party’s state committee as soon as possible,” Verma said.

Supporters of Kushwaha, in the meantime, raised objection over the issuance of show-cause notice to him without the outcome of the probe team. “When the party has constituted a probe team, let it complete its inquiry and submit its report. How can the party issue a show-cause notice without knowing the findings of the probe committee?” a supporter of Kushwaha asked.

