Bihar Congress issues show-cause notices to 29 leaders over Delhi protest

The disciplinary committee of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee has issued show-cause notices to 29 leaders, accusing them of anti-party activity and indiscipline.

The notices stem from the leaders' participation in a protest staged near the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi on September 8, 2026, directed against the Bihar Pradesh Congress leadership.

In the notice, Kapildev Prasad Yadav, who chairs the state disciplinary committee, said the leaders' involvement in the protest amounted to a breach of party policy, discipline and directives, and constituted a serious act of indiscipline.

Each of the leaders has been asked to file a written explanation with the committee within 72 hours of receiving the notice, setting out why disciplinary action should not be initiated against them. The committee has said that if no reply arrives within that window, or if the explanation is found unsatisfactory, it will be free to act unilaterally against them in line with party rules.

Among those served are former MLAs Anil Singh and Poonam Devi, along with Congress leaders Vidhushekhar Pandey, Bharat Bhushan Dubey, Satyendra Yadav and Mrityunjay Singh.

The protest that triggered the action was a peaceful sit-in by a section of Bihar Congress leaders outside the party headquarters, demanding the removal of Bihar unit in-charge Krishna Allavaru and state president Rajesh Kumar, whom they held responsible for the party's poor showing in the state.

Anand Madhab, an AICC member who took part in the Delhi protest, criticised the notices. He said the demonstration had ended and that Manish Chatrath, in-charge of the AICC headquarters, had met the protesters and assured them their grievances would be heard. Mr. Madhab questioned why the two leaders had proceeded with the notices, arguing that party members with complaints against the state leadership had nowhere to turn but the high command. He said the notices showed both fear on the part of those who issued them and an acknowledgement that a large number of former MLAs, former district presidents and senior state leaders were ranged against them.

Mr. Madhab further contended that the power to act against an AICC member lies with the national president and the national disciplinary committee, not the state committee.

The development follows an earlier round of action on November 17, 2025, when the disciplinary committee issued show-cause notices to 47 leaders over anti-party activities and statements against the party line during the assembly election.