New Delhi: Delhi Mahila Congress chief Barkha Singh, who stepped down today after attacking Rahul Gandhi and Ajay Maken, was removed from the party post within hours of her making the announcement.
"This is to inform that Barkha Shukla Singh has been removed from the post of president of Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress with immediate effect," All India Mahila Congress President Shobha Oza said in a statement.
A defiant Singh said she will adopt legal options against her removal and said she would not quit the party, claiming herself to be a "loyal soldier" of the Congress.
However, on Friday she was expelled from the party, said reports.
"I will not quit the Congress and continue to wage my war within the party," she said, adding that "I will move the court against my illegal removal".
She earlier charged Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi with not meeting party leaders and said he was "reluctant" to address "issues" within the party organisation.
"Why is he (Rahul) scared of meeting his own party members? Several senior leaders have quit the party because of this very reason - his reluctance over addressing issues that exist within the organisation," she said.
Singh, who had complained against "neglect" of women workers in ticket distribution for the municipal elections, alleged that the voice of party workers was "snubbed" and their grievances were not addressed.
"Delhi Congress president (Maken) not only misbehaved with me but also with other office bearers of Mahila Congressat his residence. When the matter was brought to the notice of Rahul Gandhi, nothing happened," said Singh, a former chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
Delhi Congress' chief spokesperson Sharmishtha Mukherjee later said that Singh was settling her "personal grudges" and "hurting" party interests at a crucial time when MCD polls are round the corner.
"She is not a 'loyal soldier' but a back-stabber who is deliberately trying to harm the party at a crucial juncture," Mukherjee said.
