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Never seen such chaos, anarchy in Punjab Cong: Tewari on infighting
Manish Tewari on Sunday slammed the “daily soap opera” in the Punjab Congress, questioning open defiance, party leaders squabbling like children and use of guttural language against each other
Amid continued infighting, Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari on Sunday slammed the “daily soap opera” in the Punjab Congress, questioning open defiance, party leaders squabbling like children and use of guttural language against each other.
Referring to former Punjab affair in-charge Harish Rawat’s interview, Tewari said that in his 40 years plus in the Congress, he has never seen such chaos and anarchy. “Repeated open defiance of AICC by a PCC president, colleagues squabbling publicly with each other like children. Guttural language against each other that even fish wives would not use. For the past 5 months, it is @INCPunjab vs @INCPunjab,” he tweeted, hitting out at state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Rawat, in an interview last week, asked Tewari to understand the ground situation in the state. The Congress has been rocked by factional feud in Punjab for the past five months that saw Capt Amarinder Singh resign as the chief minister after Navjot Singh Sindhu and several ministers and MLAs rebelled against him. Charanjit Singh Channi, a minister in the Amarinder cabinet, was then appointed as the first SC chief minister of Punjab. However, the change of guard has failed to end the rift in the state unit as Channi and Sidhu have not been on the same page on senior appointments, portfolio allocation and pending promises.
The Congress has also stepped its attack on Amarinder since his announcement that he would float a new party and have an understanding with the BJP for the upcoming assembly polls.
In another tweet, Tewari, who had backed Capt Amarinder in his tussle with Sidhu and other detractors, said: “Do we think that people of Punjab are not disgusted by this daily soap opera? Irony is that those who complained loudest of transgressions & aberrations were unfortunately and continue to be worst offenders themselves.”
The Lok Sabha MP said history would record that the appointment of the committee that ostensibly heard perceived and real grievances was a serious error of judgment. “Where is progress on the issues that agitated these MLAs and other eminences – Bargari, Drugs, Power PPAs, illegal sand mining. Has there been any movement forward,” he asked without mincing words.
The three-member committee comprising Rajya Saba MP Mallikarjun Kharge, Rawat and ex-MP JP Agarwal was constituted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to resolve the rift in the state Congress. The panel held one-to-one discussions with close to 150 party lawmakers and functionaries from the state with the then CM appearing twice before it and handed then handed an 18-point agenda for implementation before the state polls. The to-do list is also a bone of contention between Channi and Sidhu.
