Sunil Jakhar had posted a defiant message earlier in the day. (File)
Former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar should be suspended for two years and removed from all party posts, the party's Disciplinary Committee recommended on Tuesday, in a move that is expected to be cleared by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, sources said.
The AK Anthony-led disciplinary panel of the Congress, which met in Delhi this morning, also recommended the removal of Kerala leader KV Thomas from all party positions for "anti-party activities", sources said.
It also called for the suspension of five party MLAs in Meghalaya, who had supported the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) in the state, defying the party directives, they added.
The five-member Committee is chaired by senior party leader AK Antony and Tuesday's meeting was attended by panel members Tariq Anwar, JP Aggarwal and G Parameswar, besides Mr Antony. Ambika Soni, seen as Mr Jakhar's bete noire, was not present during the meeting.
Ahead of the Congress disciplinary committee meeting, Mr Jakhar had said those who still have a conscience will be punished.
"Aaj, sar kalam honge unke jinme abhi zameer baaki hai. (Today, those with a conscience will be beheaded). (My apologies to Javed Akhtar Saheb)," said Mr Jakhar in a tweet.
Mr Jakhar had criticised former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him a liability for the party after the Congress lost to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab.
He had also been critical of the party leadership for picking Mr Channi as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the elections, and had hit out at Ambika Soni for supposedly scuttling his chances of being picked as Chief Minister after Amarinder Singh's ouster.
Mr Thomas had attended a seminar organised by the Left on April 9 in Kerala against the party's wishes, and local state leaders had been seeking action against him.
Sources said the five Congress MLAs in Meghalaya had joined the BJP-backed ruling alliance in the state, for which a show-cause notice was sent to them.
The legislators had joined the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance in February, which brought the two arch-foes together in a ruling coalition and left Congress leaders in the state fuming.