Three Cong workers suspended for threatening vegetable vendor over donation

As the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi resumed here on Friday, a group of Congress activists threatening a local vegetable vendor over donation in the name of the footmarch has brought embarrassment to the party, following which three workers were suspended with immediate effect.

The action came in the wake of a video in which the activists are seen purportedly threatening the vendor and creating a ruckus at the shop went viral on social media platforms.

KPCC chief K Sudhakaran said the three party workers, involved in an ”unacceptable incident”, have been suspended with immediate effect. ”They do not represent our ideology and such behaviour is inexcusable. The party is crowdfunding small donations voluntarily unlike others who get corporate donations,” he tweeted.

Sharing the tweet, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said the KPCC has been doing crowdfunding for years. ”Their politics runs on small donations at the grassroots. But this should not have happened. These three were clearly fringe elements and exemplary action has been taken immediately by the PCC President,” he said in a tweet.

Admitting that the incident has taken the sheen off the Yatra, which has been progressing well with the support of people from all walks of life, Kollam District Congress Committee President (DCC) P Rajendra Prasad said the party would not tolerate such practices.

”The trio were activists of the Mandalam Congress committee here. As their act brought embarrassment to the party and the leadership, we have acted swiftly with the consent of the AICC and the KPCC and suspended them immediately,” he told PTI.

The mandalam committee, to which they belonged, was also dissolved, the leader added. Accompanied by hundreds of party workers and senior party leaders, Rahul Gandhi on Friday resumed the Yatra, a 150-day-long footmarch, after a day’s rest from Polayathodu in Kollam district.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan, AICC general secretary in charge of Organisation, K C Venugopal, senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan and RSP leader N K Premachandran among others were seen walking besides Gandhi.