NCP suspends Padamsinh Patil from party

NEW DELHI: Bowing to intense criticism, NCP today suspended controversial MP Padamsinh Patil, arrested in connection of a double murder case, from the primary membership of the party.

NCP's Central Disciplinary Action Committee, headed by General Secretary Praful Patel, decided to suspend Patil to set "highest standards of probity in public life".

Till yesterday, the NCP had backed Patil to the hilt saying he was a "senior and distinguished" leader and the party believed that the Osmanabad MP was "innocent, as any undertrial, until he is proven guilty by any court of law".

Asked what made the party change its stand on the issue within a day, Patel said that Patil was arrested only on Sunday and there was a Parliament session on till yesterday.

"We did not want to adopt a knee-jerk reaction towards a senior leader," he said adding that the party held intense deliberations and studied Patil's case closely before arriving at the decision to suspend him.