Kuldeep Bishnoi lashed out at the Congress on Saturday, claiming that his dismissal from all party positions was due to his cross-voting during the Haryana Rajya Sabha election. In a tweet, Bishnoi blamed Congress for irresponsible behavior.

 

Bishnoi alleged Congress has regulations for some leaders and exemptions for others, which are applied selectively. “In the past, discipline was often disregarded. In my instance, I followed my morals and listened to my soul,” he explained.

He also said that the grand old party would not be in “such serious straits” if Congress had responded as quickly and forcefully in 2016 as it did in his case and “on every other key opportunity they’ve squandered.”

According to the Haryana Congress, Bishnoi, an MLA from Hisar’s Adampur constituency, did not vote for the party’s nominee Ajay Maken, instead of voting for an Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma, who was backed by the ruling BJP-JJP coalition.

“The Congress president has expelled Kuldeep Bishnoi from all of his current party posts, including the post of special invitee of the Congress Working Committee, with immediate effect,” said AICC general secretary KC Venugopal in a statement.

The Congress had 31 MLAs and needed the same number of votes to win the Haryana Rajya Sabha seat, but one of its legislators crossed the floor and another’s vote was voided. Meanwhile, Bishnoi had not attended any of the legislators’ party meetings and had stated that he voted according to his conscience.

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