Odisha: Chiranjib Biswal, Md Moquim & Krushna Chandra Sagaria Back In Congress

Bhubaneswar: Congress on Tuesday withdrew suspension of Barabati-Cuttack legislator Mohammed Moquim and former Deputy Leader of CLP Chiranjib Biswal.

The party also revoked the expulsion of former MLA Krushna Chandra Sagaria.

Odisha Congress in-charge Ajoy Kumar made these announcement while addressing a presser here.

This came a day after Moquim and Biswal met Ajoy Kumar in Bhubaneswar. “We should see both Moquim Bhai and Chiranjib Ji as members of one family. They are strong leaders and belong to the party’s organisation. It is obligatory on all of us that we should try to clear the existing misunderstandings,” Kumar had then said.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) on July 16, 2023, had suspended the senior leaders from the party for indulging in anti-party activities. Prior to that, they were issued showcase notices for their statements against the party affairs and organisation at an event held in Bhubaneswar ahead of the Jharsuguda Assembly by-election. The two senior leaders were also not included in the list of star campaigners of Congress for Jharsuguda Assembly bypoll last year.

Despite their suspension, Moquim and Biswal did not join any party even though there was speculation that they might shift allegiance to Biju Janata Dal(BJD).

Sagaria, along with Srikant Jena, was expelled from Congress for alleged anti-party activities in January 2019 after he resigned from the membership of the Odisha assembly, upset over failing to ensure justice for a rape and murder victim and her family at Kunduli in Koraput district. He had then strongly criticised the then OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik.

Notably, the Congress is facilitating return of a host of senior leaders of the party who in the past jumped to other political outfits under different circumstances with an eye on the 2024 elections in Odisha. Former Odisha chief minister Giridhar Gamang, 80, rejoined the Congress along with his wife and son, after nine years, on January 17.