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Rawat tells Sidhu to axe two advisers, Capt camp shows strength at dinner
Delivering his first tough message to Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, party’s Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat on Thursday asked Sidhu to axe his two advisers whose controversial statements on Kashmir and Pakistan had left the party red-faced
Delivering his first tough message to Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, party’s Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat on Thursday asked Sidhu to axe his two advisers whose controversial statements on Kashmir and Pakistan had left the party red-faced.
Rawat’s directive to Sidhu came a day after four disgruntled Punjab ministers and several party MLAs met him in Dehradun seeking chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s removal.
“I have verbally communicated to the PPCC chief to remove them (two advisers), making it clear that if he fails to do so, I will have to issue a written direction,” Rawat told Hindustan Times.
Rawat’s ultimatum, ostensibly at the behest of the party high command, on Sidhu’s hand-picked aides Malwinder Singh Mali and Pyare Lal Garg is a setback for PCC chief who has so far kept a studied silence on their remarks, particularly Mali’s relentless swipes at Capt Amarinder Singh.
Asked about Mali’s clarification that these were his “personal views”, Rawat said that his remarks were totally unacceptable, and no clarification was sufficient. “The Congress has nothing to do with him. He is not our appointee. He is not even a primary member of the Congress. On sensitive issues like Kashmir having national and international repercussions, the party will not accept any statement that is at variance with its view,” he added.
55 MLAs show up at dinner with Capt
Buoyed by Rawat’s assertion on Wednesday that Amarinder will lead the party in the next assembly elections, the Captain camp hosted a dinner for MLAs and MPs on Thursday as a show of strength to counter the detractors’ claim of a brewing revolt against chief minister.
Earlier in the day, three of the four dissenting ministers skipped the virtual meeting of the cabinet chaired by the chief minister. The absentees were rural development and panchayats minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, jails and cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and water resources minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria.
Over 55 party ministers and MLAs, besides eight MPs, attended the dinner where chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh was also present, according to sources. The dinner was hosted by sports and youth affairs minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, a close confidant of Amarinder, at his official residence here.
“We had invited like-minded MLAs and MPs. All those who were invited turned up and reaffirmed their faith in the chief minister’s leadership. We will win the 2022 assembly elections under him,” Sodhi told Hindustan Times. Sidhu and ministers and MLAs close to him were not seen there.
Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, who was to sit at Punjab Congress Bhawan to redress the grievances of party workers and public as per the roster, also did not show up at the headquarters. Randhawa said he had a family engagement and could not participate in the meeting. Bajwa and Sarkaria did not respond to calls.
