Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh came under fresh fire from his detractors within the state cabinet and the party who questioned the tactics to allegedly “browbeat” them and met at a cabinet minister’s residence on Tuesday to discuss their future strategy.
The fresh shots were fired by former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa, cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh amid a damage-control exercise by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat. The state in-charge, who spoke to cabinet minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Bajwa and Pargat among others on Monday evening and Tuesday, had asked them to hold their fire, according to sources.
Bajwa, Randhawa, Pargat were among more than half-a-dozen party leaders who met at Channi’s official residence and then spoke out. The common theme of their attacks was the attempt to rake up a two-and-a-half-years-old harassment allegation by a woman IAS officer against Channi and the threat call by a political aide of the chief minister to Pargat. Both Channi and Pargat have been critical of the state government’s handling of the sacrilege and police firing cases. The former had also held a meeting of about a dozen SC and OBC MLAs on unfulfilled poll promises which did not go down well with the CM’s camp.
‘5 ministers, 7 MLAs met at Channi’s house’
{{/usCountry}}‘5 ministers, 7 MLAs met at Channi’s house’
{{/usCountry}}Bajwa, a strident critic of Amarinder, said they would not let the vigilance or any other agency to threaten or browbeat the ministers, MLAs and other party leaders who are speaking up in the interest of the Congress. “A threat is a serious offence and the CM has not issued any clarification even after 24 hours and then the attempt to rake up an old issue against the minister. This is not done. No one is scared and these tactics will not succeed,” he said, putting the number of those present in the meeting at five ministers and seven MLAs without disclosing their names.
He said the government was targeting its own party MLAs when it should have probed the scams that took place during the previous Badal government. Bajwa said Rawat told him that they (central leadership) were watching and would do something very soon. “The high command should send a representative and convene a meeting of 80 MLAs, 11 MPs and 37 candidates who didn’t make it to the state assembly. I have conveyed this to central leaders. We don’t want leadership change but a course correction before it is too late,” he said.
Sidhu says threat shows insecurity
Sidhu, who has been breathing fire against the CM ever since the state government suffered a legal setback in the Kotkapura police firing case, said the threat to party colleagues exhibited fear and insecurity. “Ministers, MLAs and MPs raising people’s issues are strengthening the party, fulfilling their democratic duty and exercising their constitution right…but everyone who speaks the truth becomes your enemy. Thus, you threaten your party colleagues, exhibiting your fear and insecurity,” the former minister tweeted with a video clip of his friend Pargat’s press conference.
Randhawa, Pargat slam women commission chief
Both Randhawa and Pargat hit out at the Punjab Women Commission chairperson Manisha Gulati for her threat to stage a dharna and go to the Congress high command if the state government failed to submit a reply to a letter sent on the 2018 matter against Channi in which there was no complaint. “She holds a constitutional position and this is very unfortunate,” said Randhawa. Pargat, a former India hockey captain, also said that the commission chairperson should have known better and not acted in the manner she did. Channi had also planned a press conference on Tuesday but called it off after Rawat intervened. However, there was no official response from the chief minister or his advisers on the threat charge and the detractors’ continuous attacks.