Bharatiya Janata Party has announced the list of 80-member national executive council Thursday. While many Union Ministers and veteran leaders like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are on the list, party MPs and mother-son duo Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi have been excluded from the executive council.

The removal comes even as Varun Gandhi has been quite vocal regarding the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and has been demanding an investigation into the incident. Sources in the party said that Pilibhit MP`s stance on the incident was not taken well by the top BJP leadership. "He projected as if the entire fault lies at the doorsteps of the leaders. We are awaiting the investigation report and believe that incident was unfortunate. He should have been patient at a time when the entire opposition is targeting the party," said a senior BJP leader.