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Capt to meet Congress panel today to resolve infighting in Punjab unit
The chief minister is scheduled to reach Delhi on Thursday afternoon for the one-on-one meeting with the committee that has already interacted with his detractors, including Sidhu
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh is expected to meet the three-member committee constituted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to resolve the infighting in the party ahead of next year’s assembly polls in the state.
The chief minister is scheduled to reach Delhi on Thursday afternoon for the one-on-one meeting with the panel, comprising leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat and former Delhi Congress president Jai Prakash Agarwal.
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The central committee has already met Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar, most ministers, MLAs, MPs, heads of frontal organisations and former state presidents of the party over the past three days.
Detractors pushing for course correction
During these meetings, Amarinder’s detractors, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, Partap Singh Bajwa, Pargat Singh, Surjit Singh Dhiman and Shamsher Singh Dullo have raised questions over his handling of the sacrilege and police firing cases of 2015, inaccessibility, inadequate representation to Dalits and other backward classes and over-dependence on the bureaucracy.
The detractors are pushing for course correction before the state goes to the polls early next year.
Party unit restructuring pending
The chief minister has the support of a majority of the party legislators and the committee members have also ruled out any leadership change. Though there is talk that the party high command’s peace formula could include the appointment of two deputy chief ministers, several MLAs and MPs who have met the panel said this is news to them.
The restructuring of the Congress’ organisational set-up has also been pending for the year and a half. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had dissolved the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and all district committees in the state in January last year, retaining state unit president Sunil Jakhar.
