A unit of the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh has demanded disciplinary action against all the signatories of a letter that called for changes within the party, reported News18. The party’s unit in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district has passed a resolution, demanding the expulsion of former Union minister Jitin Prasada who is among the 23 signatories of the “dissent letter”.

“The District Congress Committee demands that disciplinary action should be taken against all those who signed the letter and they should be expelled from the party,” stated the resolution passed by Lakhimpur Kheri district Congress committee on Wednesday.

Congress veteran Kapil Sibal, who is also among the 23 signatories, said that it was unfortunate that Prasada was being “officially targeted” in the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit. Manish Tewari, who is also among the signatories, responded to Sibal’s tweet. “Prescient!” he wrote.

Jitin Prasada represented the Dhaurahra Lok Sabha seat, which is a part of the Lakhimpur Kheri district, in 2009.

“Jitin Prasada is the only person from Uttar Pradesh to have signed the letter,” the resolution read, according to NDTV. “His family history has been against the Gandhi family and his father Jitendra Prasad proved it by fighting elections against Sonia Gandhi. Despite this, Sonia Gandhi gave Jitin Prasada a Lok Sabha ticket and made him a minister. What he has done is gross indiscipline and the district Congress committee wants strict action against him and condemns his actions.”

Prasada’s father, also a veteran Congress leader, had challenged Sonia Gandhi’s leadership in 1999. He had also contested against her for the post of party chief but lost.

This came two days after a crucial Congress Working Committee meeting where Sonia Gandhi had offered to quit but was urged to stay on as the interim chief for another six months.

Rahul Gandhi had questioned the timing of the letter. The former Congress president said the letter was sent to the party chief at a time when she had not been keeping well. He said the letter came at a time when the “party is fighting the Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan”.

The letter, which was written on August 15, urged Gandhi to address the leadership question in the party and claimed the uncertainty around it “has demoralised party workers and weakened the institution”.