Newly appointed Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday asked the heads of party’s frontal organisations and various cells of the state unit to come back within 15 days with a roadmap for their revival ahead of the assembly polls early next year.
Sidhu, who, along with four working presidents, held the first meeting with the heads of frontal organisations and chairpersons of all 35 departments and cells of the state Congress, asked them to outline the work they can do at grassroots levels and details of important issues that needed to be addressed before the state elections.
“We have been asked to put all this in bullet points and then one-on-one meetings will be held for revival of the defunct set-ups for reaching out to people of different segments,” two party leaders present in the meeting said. The state president, who took charge of his assignment on Friday, gave these directions after some of them complained that their cells and departments were ignored and rendered defunct in the past four-and-a-half years.
“The common grouse of several of them was that they had worked really hard before the state elections (2017) but then people from other parties were given positions or adjusted after the Congress formed the government. The state chief assured them that the hard work put in by them will not be ignored,” one of the persons quoted above said, pointing out that the meeting did not have any agenda.
{{/usCountry}}“The common grouse of several of them was that they had worked really hard before the state elections (2017) but then people from other parties were given positions or adjusted after the Congress formed the government. The state chief assured them that the hard work put in by them will not be ignored,” one of the persons quoted above said, pointing out that the meeting did not have any agenda.
{{/usCountry}}The marathon meeting at Punjab Congress Bhawan here lasted more than five hours and was attended by working presidents Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny Bandala, Kuljit Nagra and Pawan Goyal, Punjab Youth Congress chief Brinder Singh Dhillon, Punjab Mahila Congress president Mamta Dutta and National Students Union of India state president Akshay Sharma, among others. The state chief and four working presidents were appointed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on July 18 after a two-month-long tussle in the Punjab unit that saw Sidhu and chief minister Capt Amarinder publicly hurl accusations at each other.
A party statement on the meeting said that Sidhu had detailed discussions with working presidents about rebuilding the organisation and strengthening the party further at the grassroots level. They also discussed with heads of all departments and cells of PPCC their working and steps needed for their revival, it added. Besides stressing on his “Jitega Punjab” mission and “Punjab model”, the new state chief also asked the party leaders about the perception among people about him, said sources.
Gilzian said that at least one of them would be present at the party headquarters daily to meet party leaders and workers. Another suggestion discussed at the meeting was to visit the religious deras for their blessings, but no schedule has been firmed up. Sidhu also met the office staff of Punjab Congress Bhawan.