New Delhi

The Congress disciplinary committee on Tuesday removed former Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar and K V Thomas from all party posts for going against "party lines".

According to sources, Congress President Sonia Gandhi showed "softness" towards Jakhar and did not suspend him from the party despite the recommendation of the committee.

Meanwhile, it was decided to remove KV Thomas from Kerala's political affairs committee and the executive committee of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Community.

Along with them, five MLAs of Meghalaya have been suspended for three years.

In the meeting, the committee headed by AK Antony unanimously took a decision on these complaints and sent it to the interim president of Congress Sonia Gandhi for the final decision.

On April 11, Congress leaders KV Thomas and Sunil Jakhar were issued show-cause notices for breaking party discipline and were asked to reply within a week. Sunil Jakhar, however, has not yet presented any statement before the committee.

Jakhar did not respond to the notice issued by the Congress Disciplinary Committee on April 11.

In the notice of the disciplinary committee, Jakhar had said that he is not a slave of the Congress party but a disciplined worker.

Stating that he has a 50-year-old relationship with the Congress party, Jakhar said, "For years, I have acted as a disciplined worker of the Congress party."