PETALING JAYA, Feb 13 – MIC president G Palanivel looks to be preparing to do battle against detractors in the party with the appointment of the party’s disciplinary committee comprising those aligned to him.
In a short statement, party secretary general APrakash Rao yesterday evening announced that the new committee members would investigate members who went public with their grouses.
“Disciplinary committee will soon conduct its investigation towards the disciplinary matter for those who had recently issued various statements detrimental to the interest of the party leadership and tarnished the image of the congress,” he said in the statement.
MIC is going through turbulent times, especially after the party’s internal elections in May 2013.
Various allegations from vote manipulation to discrepancies in the number of voters and the number of votes cast have been questioned openly.
Disgruntled leaders who lost in the polls, held to pick three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members, have petitioned the party leadership requesting for fresh elections.
They have also submitted their complaints and grouses to the Registrar of Societies (ROS) with the hope that ROS would direct the party to hold new elections.
Many of these leaders have also issued press statements against the running of the election. They argued that Palanivel had taken sides in the polls, wanting his supporters to hold the important positions in the party’s decision making body.
Palanivel, after taking over as president in Dec 2010, re-admitted members sacked by former party supremo S Samy Vellu and vowed that sacking and suspending members was not the way MIC should operate.
He was at one-point an ardent opponent against sacking and suspending members who were vocal in the party.
Palanivel yesterday appointed KS Nijhar, a party veteran and his close ally, to continue heading the MIC disciplinary committee.
Prakash Rao said Palanivel had appointment him as the disciplinary committee secretary.
Other members of the committee include R Ganesan of Perak, S Ganesan of Kedah and Randhir Singh from Johor.
Sources revealed that the committee will hold its first meeting next week and was expected to issue suspensions, sackings and show cause letters to vocal leaders by the end of next month.
– FREE MALAYSIA TODAY
