'External elements' behind our expulsion, says UP Cong leaders

Expelled senior UP Congress leaders on Monday termed the party action against them "unfortunate" and blamed "external elements" for their expulsion.

Interacting with reporters at a press conference here, former UP minister Ramkrishna Dwivedi said, "We firmly believe in the ideology of the party and deeply saddened by the developments. It is extremely sad and unfortunate. The decision to expel us is uncalled for and it seems that there is a conspiracy by external elements who have infiltrated the party to destablise it."
Another former UP minister, Satyadev Tripathi, said, "We are shocked over the expulsion. The party constitution has been grossly violated. In the party constitution, there is a provision of giving seven days to give a reply after being served a notice. However, we were given only 24 hours."